Israel Won’t Last Long”: Iran’s Khamenei’s First Public Sermon In 5 Years

Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Israel “won’t last long” as he backed the Palestinian and Lebanese movements against Israel in his rare Friday sermon. Addressing tens of thousands of supporters at a mosque in Tehran, Khamenei justified its missile strikes on Israel as a “public service”.

A gun kept by his side, the Iran leader declared that Israel would not prevail against Hamas or Hezbollah as chants of “we are with you” from the crowd echoed in the vast mosque grounds.

Khamenei’s first Friday sermon in five years marks a crucial show of defiance amid threats to the supreme leader’s life. He remains a top target for Israel, which has vowed to retaliate after Tuesday’s missile attacks.

In his speech, he also praised Hassan Nasrallah, the former chief of the Iran-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah who was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Beirut last week.Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah is no longer with us, but his spirit and his path will continue to inspire us forever. He was the high-standing flag against the Zionist enemy. His martyrdom will further increase this influence. The loss of Nasrallah is not in vain. We must stand up against the enemy while strengthening our unwavering faith,” Khamenei told the gathering