Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei speaks during a meeting in Tehran, Iran, September 21, 2024. (Photo: Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader/ WANA/Handout via REUTERS)
The Iranian regime’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, admitted on Wednesday that Hezbollah had suffered damage from Israel’s recent elimination of multiple top Hezbollah terrorists and the destruction of many assets. However, he said that Hezbollah would not be dismantled.
“Some of the effective and valuable forces of Hezbollah were martyred, which undoubtedly caused damage to Hezbollah, but this was not the sort of damage that could bring the group to its knees,” Khamenei told Iranian veteran leaders from the Iran-Iraq war of 1980-1988.
Khamenei argued that Hezbollah’s organizational strength extended beyond specific individuals, including senior commanders.
“The organizational and human strength of Hezbollah is much more than that. Their authority, capabilities and strength are much more than that and cannot be seriously affected by these martyrdoms.”
Khamenei said that Hezbollah has “protected” Gaza and Hamas since the beginning of the war.
While praising Hezbollah’s attacks on Israel from Lebanon, Khamenei simultaneously blamed the United States for the escalation on the border.
Khamenei said that “the US both knows and interferes,” suggesting that Washington “needs a victory for the Zionist regime” ahead of the upcoming U.S. presidential election in November.
“Until today, the victory has been for the Palestinian resistance and Hezbollah,” the Iranian leader claimed. “The final victory in this battle will belong to the resistance front and Hezbollah.”
Hezbollah launched an unprovoked attack on Israel on Oct. 8, the day after Iranian-backed Hamas terrorists massacred 1,200 Israelis and kidnapped 251 people from southern Israeli border communities.
Hezbollah forces stated their attack on northern Israel was a show of solidarity with Hamas and Gaza against the Jewish state.
Since then, Hezbollah has fired over 9,000 rockets into Israel, as well as numerous drones. Dozens of Israeli civilians and soldiers have been killed and 60,000 Israelis have been evacuated from their homes in northern Israel for almost a year without knowing when they will be able to return home.
(Image: Israeli National Public Diplomacy Directorate)
The Israel Defense Forces have responded with extensive aerial attacks on Hezbollah sites and assets, killing hundreds of Hezbollah terrorists. There have also been civilian casualties in Lebanon due to the strikes and because Hezbollah deliberately uses Lebanese civilians as human shields, a war crime under international law.
Israeli UN Ambassador Danny Danon condemned Hezbollah for disregarding Israeli and Lebanese civilian lives and dragging the region into a potentially full-scale war. Danon emphasized that Israel prefers a diplomatic solution but warned that, if necessary, Israel would use any means to secure its territory and citizens.
“We will do whatever necessary to bring the residents back to the North. If nothing will help, then the goal of any operation is to achieve peace,” Danon stated.
The Israeli UN envoy said the war in Lebanon would end once Hezbollah no longer poses a threat to Israel.
Meanwhile, the United States and France are leading international efforts to secure a 21-day ceasefire between Israel and the Hezbollah terror group, which may include a truce in the IDF’s fighting with Hamas terrorists in Gaza.
“The situation between Lebanon and Israel since October 8th, 2023 is intolerable and presents an unacceptable risk of a broader regional escalation,” the joint statement read. “This is in nobody’s interest, neither of the people of Israel nor of the people of Lebanon.”
