Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, led Friday prayers for the first time in almost five years, delivering a sermon during a memorial service in Tehran for Hezbollah’s leader, Hassen Nasrallah, in which he railed against Israel and warned of further retaliation, if necessary, for its actions.
Mr. Nasrallah, who was killed in an Israeli attack last week, was one of Mr. Khamenei’s closest allies and friends.
In his sermon, Mr. Khamenei, donning a Palestinian checkered kaffiyeh, praised Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack on Israel nearly a year ago as a “logical, just and internationally legal action” because of Israel’s long occupation of Palestinian territories. He referred to Israel as “a rabid dog,” “blood thirsty,” and “wolf like,” and said that “any strike on the Zionist regime is a service to humanity.”
He pledged support for the network of regional militias Iran backs that is known as the “axis of resistance,” which includes Hamas and Hezbollah, and which has taken significant hits from Israeli strikes in recent weeks. And he said that Iran would continue to support the Palestinians and Lebanese and called for pan-Muslim unity to stand against Israel and the United States, which he said was an accomplice in what he called Israel’s military crimes.
“The Islamic Republic will fulfill all its duty in this regard with force, determination and strength,” Mr. Khamenei said. “We will not rush nor delay.”
If necessary in the future, he added, Iran would respond again, as it had done days earlier by launching ballistic missiles at Israel.
Mr. Khamenei’s appearance in person at the prayers, despite security concerns, signaled the significance of the moment, as anxiety has mounted that Israel and Iran appear prepared to risk all-out conflict.
Sina Azodi, an adjunct professor at George Washington University and an expert on Iran’s national security, said that Mr. Khamenei’s message “was one of defiance, solidarity with resistance groups and the Arab public and to shore up domestic support for a potential conflict with Israel.” He added, “He is sending a signaling to abroad that Iran is not going to take any irrational actions or escalate but will respond to potential attacks.”
State television showed tens of thousands of supporters packing the sprawling arena — men sitting separately from women — and spilling into the streets of central Tehran. They waved Hezbollah, Lebanese and Palestinian flags and held up posters of Mr. Nasrallah. Some men wore yellow Hezbollah headbands.
One woman, who was shrouded in a white cloth symbolizing martyrdom and attended the event with her family and toddler in tow, told state television that she came to deliver a message, “Since the enemy has threatened us, we are here to say we are not afraid of anything.”
Despite official rhetoric, in interviews, virtual town halls and social media posts, many Iranians said they were anxious about a war with Israel and that they do not want one.
Mr. Khamenei switched from Persian to Arabic to address Palestinians and people in Lebanon, which has been battered by Israeli strikes targeting Hezbollah. He defended Tuesday’s Iranian missile attack against Israel as “completely legal and legitimate.”
“What our armed forces did was the least punishment they could do” against Israel, he said, adding, “what is logical and rational will be done at the right time and will be done again in the future if necessary.”
Senior Iranian officials, including the new president Masoud Pezeshkian, the head of parliament and senior military commanders sat in the front row during the ceremony. Mr. Pezeshkian told reporters ahead of the event that the ceremony aimed to “project a show of unity, cohesion and power.”
On Tuesday, Iran fired nearly 200 missiles at Israel in retaliation for Mr. Nasrallah’s death and the recent killings of Hamas’s political leader, Ismail Haniyeh, and an Iranian commander, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps said. Israel has said it would retaliate with strikes against Iran, sparking fears of a regional war.
In a series of attacks, Israel has aimed to reduce the military capabilities and dismantle the leadership of Hezbollah, a militia group backed by Iran and based in Lebanon. On Thursday night around midnight, Israel launched an intense barrage of airstrikes in a neighborhood south of Beirut in an effort to target Hashem Safieddine, Mr. Nasrallah’s presumed successor, according to three Israeli officials.It is rare for Mr.Khamenei to lead Friday prayers and deliver the sermon, typically doing so only under extraordinary circumstances related to Iran’s national security. The last time was in 2020, after the United States killed Iran’s top general, Maj. Gen. Qassim Suleimani, in Iraq. Iran retaliated by firing ballistic missiles at an American base in Iraq.
Plans for an official funeral for Mr. Nasrallah have not been announced. It is not clear whether it is feasible for Hezbollah and what remains of its leadership to gather publicly, given Israel’s attacks.
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