Defiant Khamenei says Israel ‘won’t last long’

Iran’s Supreme Leader praises October 7th massacres, claims Israel will be destroyed soon.

By World Israel News Staff

Following Iran’s unprecedented direct attack on Israel, which saw the launch of some 200 ballistic missiles at the Jewish State, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei gave a speech on Friday striking a defiant tone.

Khamenei began his first public speech in five years by praising the October 7th Hamas massacres, which included acts of brutality including the murder of babies and the elderly and the mass rape of women.

The onslaught was “logical and legal,” Khamenei contended, praising the anti-Israel “axis of resistance,” which includes Hamas and the Lebanon-based Iranian proxy group Hezbollah.

“The resistance in the region will not back down with these martyrdoms, and will win,” Khamenei said, acknowledging the recent assassination of Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah.

“Israel will never defeat Hamas and Hezbollah,” he said.

Speaking about the missile attack against Israel on Tuesday night, Khamenei claimed that what Iran “did was the minimum punishment for the crimes of the usurping Zionist regime.”

The 85-year-old added that Israel is a “malicious regime” which has “only kept itself standing by the injection of American support.”

The Islamic leader pledged that Israel “will not last long.”

In a speech last week, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the Iranian people, saying that the Israeli government’s conflict was with the Iranian regime, rather than its citizens.

One remark by Netanyahu triggered speculation that Israel may be planning to assassinate Khamenei and other senior leaders.

“When Iran is finally free — and that moment will come a lot sooner than people think – everything will be different,” Netanyahu said. “Our two ancient peoples, the Jewish people and the Persian people, will finally be at peace. Our two countries, Israel and Iran, will be at peace.”

Israel has vowed to respond “forcefully” to the Iranian attack, which marked the second time that Iran has directly attacked Israel this year.

Ali KhameneiAyatollah Ali KhameneiIranIran protestsSupreme Leader Ali Khamenei