TEHRAN: Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Monday said that Israel is headed to the path of ultimate destruction.
Khamenei, 85, was speaking at an event to observe the 35th death anniversary of Ayatollah Khomeini, the founder of the Islamic Republic.
The Supreme Leader on the occasion said Hamas gave a decisive blow to Israel on October 7 and put Israel on the path of annihilation.
Since the 1979 Islamic revolution, Iran has emerged as a strong rival to Israel and its Western allies the United States and Britain.
Iran is currently under international sanctions over its nuclear program which it says is for peaceful purposes.
As the Gaza war intensified, Iran and Israel came to the brink of war in mid-April when Tehran carried out a missile attack on Israel.
Iran denies having any advance knowledge of Hamas’s October 7 attack but has praised it since.
Khamenei said the attack occurred at the right time and ruined a major international conspiracy for the Middle East.
According to the Gaza health ministry Israel’s relentless bombardment has killed at least 36,439 people in the besieged territory, mostly civilians.
Khamenei, who spoke to thousands in the Khomeini mausoleum near Tehran, said that Israel is gradually melting before the eyes of the people of the world.
He added that sooner or later, the US will have to withdraw its support to Israel.
