Iran’s “supreme leader” Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned his underlings in a meeting on Wednesday that making a “nontactical retreat” would meet the “divine wrath” of Allah as the world awaits a highly touted attack by Tehran on neighboring Israel.
No party has taken responsibility for the explosion that killed Haniyeh, including the government of Israel, which has not commented on the incident. The government of leftist American President Joe Biden denied both that it had participated in the attack and that it had any prior knowledge that it was going to happen.
The promised revenge has yet to occur at press time, however, and by Friday Iran’s top diplomats were calling for “all-out diplomatic efforts” to stop Israel’s self-defense operations against Hamas, taking a much more measured tone than the dictator of the country.
“Since the victory of the Revolution, the enemies have been instilling fear in our nation through various means, suggesting that we should be afraid of the US, the UK, and the Zionists,” Khamenei told the assembly, according to an English-language translation of his remarks on his official website.
“Our nation realized that by relying on its inherent strength, it could accomplish great feats, and the enemy’s power was not as formidable as it seemed,” he asserted.
Khamenei warned that the Quran would frown upon a “retreat” against Israel.
“As the Quran states, a non-tactical retreat in any domain—whether military, political, or economic—will incur divine wrath,” he said.
“He pointed out that governments, whether of large or small nations, which currently capitulate to the demands of the Arrogant Powers [the West and Israel], could avoid submission if they relied on their people and capabilities, and recognized the enemy’s true power without exaggeration,” Khamenei’s website summarized. “Imam Khamenei underscored the significant consequences of amplifying the cultural practices propagated by enemies, warning that such narratives can lead to a sense of passivity, causing individuals to become infatuated with the enemies’ cultures while belittling their own.”
Khamenei was among the first to threaten a significant attack on Israel following Haniyeh’s death, calling it a “duty” to bring about “severe punishment” for Israel on the day of the incident. The Iranian government has insisted that the Israeli government was responsible for the attack, with American backing but has not produced any evidence corroborating that claim.
Israel has braced for an attack on its homeland for two weeks, but Iran has yet to execute on its threats. Tehran also spent much of this week condemning the idea of ceasing its consistent threats to kill Israelis, claiming that Iran has the sovereign right to attack Israel over Haniyeh’s death even though it has produced no proof that Israel played a role in it.
Iran’s foreign minister, Ali Bagheri Kani, stated on Friday that Iran would continue to pursue all “practical measures” to end Israel’s defense operations against its ally Hamas. Bagheri reportedly made the call during a conversation with Qatari Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani.
The Iranian foreign minister was reportedly checking in with Qatari officials in the aftermath of the beginning of alleged ceasefire talks hosted by Doha and mediated in part by the United States. While Israel reportedly has representation at the talks, Hamas does not, leaving little room for progress in addressing the genocidal jihadist attacks that prompted the Israeli operations in Gaza that Iran hopes to end.
While not officially invited, the dissident outlet Iran International reported on Friday that the Iranian Islamic regime is “indirectly involved” in the Qatari negotiations, pointing to the phone call between al-Thani and Bagheri. It suggested that Iran was seeking to address “the fear of a wider war it cannot win,” both in talks with the Qataris and with Khamenei’s warnings that “divine wrath” would strike if Iranian officials weaken their resolve to attack Israel.
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