Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, declared on Saturday (Sep 28) that the killing of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah will be avenged and that other militants will continue his fight against Israel.
“(Nasrallah) was not just an individual; he represented a path and a school of thought, and this path will continue,” Khamenei said in a statement broadcast on state television, where he also announced five days of mourning in Iran.
“The martyr’s blood will not go unavenged,” he added.
In an earlier statement, after the Israeli army confirmed it had killed Nasrallah, Khamenei said, “The fate of this region will be determined by the forces of resistance, with Hezbollah leading the way,” as reported by state media.
After Hezbollah confirmed Nasrallah’s death, Iranian outlets reported that General Abbas Nilforoushan, a deputy commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, had also died alongside Nasrallah in the Israeli strikes on southern Beirut on Friday.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian partially blamed the United States for Nasrallah’s death, pointing to its longstanding support of Israel with advanced weapons. “The Americans cannot deny their complicity with the Zionists,” Pezeshkian stated.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani vowed on social media platform X that Nasrallah’s “path will continue, and his holy mission of liberating Jerusalem will be fulfilled.”
Meanwhile, two regional officials, briefed by Tehran, informed Reuters that Khamenei had been relocated to a secure location within Iran under heightened security. The sources indicated that Iran remains in close contact with Lebanon’s Hezbollah and other regional proxies to plan the next steps following Nasrallah’s assassination.
Source: Reuters/fs
