Iranian leader defends missile strikes on Israel

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Friday praised deceased terrorist leader Hassan Nasrallah, saying his death would inspire violence against Israel. Khamenei described Nasrallah as a dear friend and praised his efforts to build the terrorist group Hezbollah and attack Israel. The comments come just days after Iran launched roughly 180 missiles at Israel in response to the death of Hassan Nasrallah and Israeli ground forces moving into Lebanon, where Hezbollah has been based.

Did he promise more Iranian attacks against Israel? Khamenei urged the Muslim world to continue fighting with Israel. He also said that Nasrallah would want the Iranian people to stand up against Israel and defeat it. He accused Israel of killing civilians in Lebanon and Gaza because it could not make significant progress against Hezbollah and Hamas.

What does Israel have to say? The Israeli military has documented ways in which it has sought to avoid civilian casualties in Gaza after it reponded to the Hamas attack on Oct. 7, 2023. The military has also insisted it is making efforts to avoid civilian casualties in Lebanon. Israel has also claimed its strikes in Lebanon are on military targets affiliated with the terrorist group Hezbollah. Those include locations where militants stashed rocket launchers and ammunition, it said. Israel has promised to retaliate against Iran for its missile attack.

How did the United States respond to the death of Nasrallah? The White House on Sept. 28 called his death justice for his many victims during four decades in power, including Lebanese civilians, Israelis, and hundreds of Americans.

Dig deeper: Read William Inboden’s column in WORLD Opinions about what the death of Hassan Nasrallah could mean for the region.