TEHRAN: Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Tuesday that “no one can stop the resistance forces” if Israel continues to bomb Gaza in response to a shocking October 7 attack by Hamas.
“If the crimes of the Zionist (Israeli) regime continue, Muslims and resistance forces will be impatient and no one can stop them,” Khamenei said.
Iran has been in close contact with its regional allies, including the Lebanese group Hezbollah and pro-Tehran Iraqi groups, since the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas attacked Israel, breaching the heavily fortified border with Gaza. Israel responded with a devastating aerial and artillery bombardment of Hamas-controlled Gaza that killed at least 2,750 Palestinians, most of them civilians.
“No matter what the Zionist regime does, it cannot make up for the scandalous failure it suffered,” Khamenei said.
Israel has deployed tens of thousands of troops to its border with Gaza in preparation for a full-scale ground offensive.
Israel has talked about 1.1 million Gazans — nearly half of the territory’s 2.4 million residents — to leave the north of the densely populated enclave in anticipation of the operation.
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Tehran has repeatedly warned that a ground invasion of Gaza would be met with a response on other fronts – raising fears of a wider conflict that could affect other countries.
On Monday, Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian spoke of possible “pre-emptive action” against Israel by a “front of resistance,” while President Ebrahim Raisi said time was running out for a political solution.
Tehran, which supports Hamas, hailed the attack but insisted it was not involved.
Since the Islamic Revolution in 1979, Iran has made support for the Palestinian cause one of the pillars of its foreign policy.
