TEHRAN: Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has strongly criticized what he termed as Israel’s “short-sighted” policy after overnight strikes in Lebanon, that Israel claimed killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and his daughter Zainab Nasrallah.
In a statement, Khamenei described the attacks as a “massacre of defenseless people,” highlighting the brutality of what he called the “Zionist rabid dog.”
In a statement, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei condemned the strikes as a “massacre of defenseless people,” highlighting the brutality of what he termed the “Zionist rabid dog.” He criticized the “short-sighted and stupid policy” of Israeli leaders, though he did not mention the status of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah.
Khamenei said that Israel is “too weak to cause significant damage to the solid construction of Hezbollah in Lebanon,” and he urged the “Axis of Resistance,” a coalition of Iran-aligned groups across the Middle East, to support Hezbollah. He concluded with a warning that “Lebanon will make the aggressor and the evil enemy regretful.”
Lebanon’s health ministry reported a preliminary toll of six dead and 91 injured from recent strikes on Beirut’s densely populated southern suburbs, marking the most intense assault on Hezbollah’s stronghold since the 2006 conflict.
The ministry also said that hundreds have died in Israeli air raids since Monday, making it the deadliest period of violence since Lebanon’s civil war from 1975 to 1990.
Earlier today, the Israeli military has claimed on Saturday that Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah was killed in overnight strike on Beirut but there has been no confirmation from Hezbollah, which is backed by Iran. A source close to the group indicated that contact with Nasrallah had been lost since Friday evening.
“Hassan Nasrallah is dead,” Israel’s army spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Nadav Shoshani claimed on social media. Military spokesman Captain David Avraham also confirmed that Hassan Nasrallah had been “killed” after strikes Friday on Beirut.
Earlier, Hezbollah’s leader Hassan Nasrallah was unreachable after Israel’s attacks on Beirut’s southern suburbs on Friday evening, Reuters cited a source close to Hezbollah.
