TEHRAN, IRAN - OCTOBER 4: In this handout image provided by the Iranian Leader's Press Office, ... [ ] Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei stands with a rifle as he leads Friday prayer at the Imam Khomeini Musalla Mosque on October 04, 2024 in Tehran, Iran. Protesters supporting Iran's military position against Israel take to the streets of Tehran after Friday prayers at the Imam Khomeini Grand Mosalla mosque. The Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei delivered a public sermon after a commemoration ceremony for the leader of Hezbollah who was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Beirut. (Photo by Iranian Leader's Press Office - Handout/Getty Images)

Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, appeared in public on Friday to announce Iran will continue supporting its regional proxies against Israel despite them coming under unprecedented attack and pressure.

“The resistance in the region will not back down even with the killing of its leaders,” Khamenei declared at Friday prayers in Tehran.

The supreme leader, who has the final say in all affairs in Iran since 1989, also dubiously claimed that Israel “cannot seriously harm” neither Hezbollah nor Hamas, claiming the latter’s fight against Israel provides a “vital service for the entire region.”

His appearance came less than a week after Iran launched its largest-ever ballistic missile strike against Israel on Tuesday. It also follows a deadly Israeli air and ground campaign in Lebanon, suspected Israeli sabotage of Hezbollah communications with explosive-packed pagers, the assassination of longtime Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, in addition to airstrikes and a rare commando raid in Syria.

These actions badly hurt Iran’s most militarily powerful regional proxy, Hezbollah, prompting Tehran to lash out at Israel with a massive barrage of at least 180 ballistic missiles on Tuesday, including some of Iran’s most advanced models. That attack ultimately caused minor damage to Israeli homes and a large airbase but no casualties inside........

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