Appearing In Public, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei Affirms Iran Will Not Resign From Israel

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei with Hassan Rouhani / PHOTO Farsi.khamenei.ir via Wikimedia Commons

JAKARTA - Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Iran's regional allies would not withdraw from Israel hours after Israel's attack on Beirut

"The brilliant actions of our armed forces a few nights ago were completely legitimate and legitimate," Khamenei said in a rare performance while leading Friday prayers in Tehran.

US President Joe Biden said Israel's response could include attacks on Iranian oil facilities.

Dahiye, a southern suburb of Beirut, which is the headquarters of Iran-backed Hezbollah, was again attacked towards midnight on Thursday.

The airstrike targeted Hezbollah officials Hashem Safieddine, who is reportedly the successor to its leader, Hassan Nasrallah, in an underground bunker, reporter Axios Barak Ravid said in X, citing three Israeli officials.

The Israeli military declined to comment and Hezbollah made no comment on Safieddine's fate.

His brother Sayyed Abdallah Safieddine, who is Hezbollah's representative for Iran, attended Khamenei's speech in Tehran.

A massive explosion rocked the sky around Beirut's main airport in the early hours of Friday, and Lebanese civilians said they were constantly living in fear.