Amid the escalating tensions in the Middle East, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei sported a gun by his side as he gave a sermon at the end of Friday prayers on October 4. His first sermon in five years, which came after the death of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and a series of Israeli attacks on Lebanon, followed by an Iranian airstrike on Israel.
As Ali Khamenei vowed to his allies that Iran's axis of resistance would continue fighting Israel, defending the Iranian airstrike on Israel, he had an AK-47 rifle by his side. While it is not the first time Ali Khamenei has carried a gun during a sermon, with June 2019 being the last time, it sure sparked possibilities of further escalation, given the already heated situation in the region.
In his Friday's address, Ali Khamenei defended the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel calling it 'logical and legal,' as per a report by AFP.
“The Al-Aqsa Flood attacks that took place around this time last year were a logical and legal international move and the Palestinians were right,” he was quoted saying. He then said that Iran and its allies will continue their fight against Israel and its allies in the region. “The resistance in the region will not back down with these martyrdoms, and will win,” he said.
Following Iran launching a slew of missiles at Israel, Iran's foreign minister Abbas Araqchi said that it was an act of 'self-defense' and it has concluded its action against Israeli assassination of Hamas leaders, and would not provoke further unless the "Israeli regime decides to invite further retaliation."
In the aftermath of the attack, Iran's Prime Minister said that the missile launch was ordered by Ali Khamenei, who was kept in a secured location after the attack. Notably, Ali Khamenei has survived at least two assassination attempts, one of which left his right hand paralyzed.