Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Tuesday that “no one can stop resistance forces” if Israel keeps up its bombardment of Gaza in response to the shock October 7 attack by Hamas.
“If the crimes of the Zionist (Israeli) regime continue, Muslims and resistance forces will become impatient, and no one can stop them,” Khamenei said.
Iran has been in close contact with its regional allies, including Lebanese militant group Hezbollah and pro-Tehran Iraqi militias, since Palestinian Islamist group Hamas attacked Israel, breaking through the heavily fortified border from Gaza and killing more than 1,400 people, most of them civilians.
Israel has responded with a devastating air and artilley bombardment of Hamas-controlled Gaza that has killed at least 2,750 Palestinians, most of them civilians.
“No matter what the Zionist regime does, it cannot make up for the scandalous failure it suffered,” Khamenei said.
Israel has deployed tens of thousands of troops to its border with Gaza in preparation for a full-scale ground offensive.
Israel has told some 1.1 million Gazans — nearly half the territory’s population of 2.4 million — to leave the north of the densely populated enclave, in anticipation of the operation.
Tehran has repeatedly warned that a ground invasion of Gaza will be met with a response on other fronts — prompting fears of a wider conflict that could draw in other countries.
On Monday, Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian spoke of possible “pre-emptive action” against Israel by the “resistance front” while President Ebrahim Raisi said time was running out to reach a political solution.
Tehran, which financially and militarily backs Hamas militants, celebrated the Hamas assault but insisted it was not involved.
Since the Islamic revolution of 1979, Iran has made support for the Palestinian cause one of the pillars of its foreign policy.
