Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Israel “won’t last long” as he backed the Palestinian and Lebanese movements against Israel in his rare Friday sermon. Addressing tens of thousands of supporters at a mosque in Tehran, Khamenei justified its missile strikes on Israel as a “public service”.

A gun kept by his side, the Iran leader declared that Israel would not prevail against Hamas or Hezbollah as chants of “we are with you” from the crowd echoed in the vast mosque grounds.

Khamenei’s first Friday sermon in five years marks a crucial show of defiance amid threats to the supreme leader’s life. He remains a top target for Israel, which has vowed to retaliate after Tuesday’s missile attacks.

In his speech, he also praised Hassan Nasrallah, the former chief of the Iran-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah who was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Beirut last week.

“Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah is no longer with us, but his spirit and his path will continue to inspire us forever. He was the high-standing flag against the Zionist enemy. His martyrdom will further increase this influence. The loss of Nasrallah is not in vain. We must stand up against the enemy while strengthening our unwavering faith,” Khamenei told the gathering.

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Khamenei also called Hezbollah a “blessed tree” that grew steadily under the leadership of Nasrallah.

“It is the duty and responsibility of all Muslims to help the blooded people of Lebanon and to support Lebanon’s jihad and the battle for al-Aqsa mosque,” he declared.

Iran’s supreme leader, who backs the Palestinian Hamas group, called their October 7 attacks on Israel the “correct move”.

“No international law has the right to object and protest against the Lebanese and Palestinians for standing up for themselves against the occupation,” he told the crowd.

Khamenei, who spoke after a prayer ceremony for Nasrallah, also called Israel a “tool” for the United States “to take control of all the lands and resources in the region.”

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“There is no doubt that the Zionists and the Americans are dreaming – the Zionist entity will be uprooted from the ground, it has no roots, it is fake, unstable, and exists only because of American support,” said Khamenei.

Khamenei, the supreme leader who holds the highest authority in Iran, had last delivered a Friday sermon five years ago. His sermon comes just three days after Iran launched 180 missiles targeting crucial infrastructure in Israel and three days before the first anniversary of the Israel-Gaza war.

The Iran leader had last led Friday prayers in January 2020 after a missile attack on a US army base in Iraq in response to the killing of top Revolutionary Guards commander Qasem Soleimani.

Iran supports both Hamas and Hezbollah, who are fighting Israel on its southern and northern fronts.

The state secretariat in Mumbai witnessed unprecedented scenes on Friday when Maharashtra Deputy Speaker Narhari Zirwal and three other legislators jumped from the third floor to protest the inclusion of a community in the Scheduled Tribes category. Mr Zirwal and the three legislators, including a BJP MP, landed safely on a net one floor below which had been installed in 2018 to prevent suicide attempts in the secretariat, which is called the Mantralaya.

Mr Zirwal, who is a member of the Ajit Pawar faction of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), and the three legislators decided to jump from the Mantralaya to oppose the demand for the Dhangar community being included in the Scheduled Tribes (ST) category, which is reportedly being considered by the government. Officials said none of them suffered any injuries. 

Videos showed the three legislators climbing back into the building after landing on the net. 

#WATCH | NCP leader Ajit Pawar faction MLA and deputy speaker Narhari Jhirwal jumped from the third floor of Maharashtra’s Mantralaya and got stuck on the safety net. Police present at the spot. Details awaited pic.twitter.com/nYoN0E8F16

— ANI (@ANI) October 4, 2024

Earlier in the day, some tribal MLAs held a protest in the Mantralaya complex during a cabinet meeting attended by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy Chief Ministers Ajit Pawar and Devendra Fadnavis, among others. 

The Dhangar community in the state is currently in the Other Backward Classes (OBC) category and some of its members have been agitating in Pandharpur in Solapur district demanding their inclusion in the ST category. The demonstrators have claimed that their community is the same as the Dhangads which are listed as Scheduled Tribes in several states.

(With inputs from ANI)

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