The Iranian supreme leader has called on Muslim nations to “strap the belt of defence” from Afghanistan to Yemen and from Iran to Gaza and Lebanon.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei spoke as he led Friday prayers in Iran for the first time in four years, standing near a rifle.
He added the 7 October attack by Hamas on Israel – during which Israel says around 1,200 people were killed and 250 were taken to Gaza as hostages – was a legitimate act, as was Iran’s attack on the country this week.
Iran will not “procrastinate or rush to carry out its duty” in confronting Israel, he added, describing the “brilliant action” of the missile attack this week against Israel as “completely legal and legitimate”.
His remarks come less than a week after Hassan Nasrallah – the leader of Iran-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah – was killed in an Israeli airstrike.
A Middle East correspondent Alistair Bunkall said his speech is a “call to the Muslim world to unite” against what the supreme leader sees as the major aggressor, Israel.
“This is an appearance to show defiance and to try and show strength in the face of what has been a very difficult time for Iran and for its proxies,” he added.
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