Khamenei: Israel committing ‘shameless crimes’ against children, must be eliminated
After deadly strikes on Hezbollah in Lebanon, Iran’s leader claims Jewish state not combating ‘fighting men, but ordinary people,’ urges Islamic countries to remove ‘malignant tumor’
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Saturday that Israel was committing “shameless crimes” against children, not combatants, and called on Islamic nations to work together to wipe it out.
Khamenei said Israel was not even hiding its different forms of “shameless crimes” in Gaza, the West Bank, Lebanon and Syria. It is not combating “fighting men, but ordinary people,” Khamenei falsely told a group of envoys from Muslim countries in Tehran in remarks broadcast on state TV.
“Unable to hurt the real fighters in Palestine, they are venting their malicious anger on small children, on hospital patients, and on schools filled with young children,” he said.
He called on Islamic countries to “completely cut off their economic relations” with Israel and “weaken political ties.”
“This inner strength can eliminate the Zionist regime, this malignant cancerous tumor, from the heart of the Islamic community in Palestine and get rid of US domination and coercive interference in the region,” he said.
His comments came a day after an Israeli airstrike on the Lebanese capital Beirut killed multiple top commanders of the Hezbollah terror group, including its head of operations.
Israel has specified that at least 16 leading Hezbollah fighters were killed in the strike, including many of the top commanders of Hezbollah’s elite Radwan Force and the force’s acting commander, Ibrahaim Aqil, the head of a long-gestating plan to invade the Galilee. According to the Lebanese health ministry, the strike killed at least 31 people, including three children and seven women.
Friday’s strike was the deadliest in a year of conflict between Israel and the Iranian-backed terror group, which has been attacking Israel’s north since October in support of the Hamas terror group in Gaza.
The strike followed two days of attacks in which pagers and walkie-talkies used by Hezbollah members exploded. Lebanon blamed the attacks on Israel, which has neither confirmed nor denied its involvement.
Also on Saturday, in a show of strength, Iran unveiled its “Jihad” single-stage liquid-fuel ballistic missile with a high-explosive detachable warhead and a range of 1,000 km, according to state TV.
The missiles were displayed, along with other military hardware, during a parade marking the anniversary of the start of the 1980-88 war with Iraq.
It also displayed an upgraded one-way attack drone. The Shahed-136B drone is an upgraded version of the Shahed-136, with new features and an operational range of more than 4,000 kilometers (2,500 miles), state news agency IRNA said.
Iran stands accused by Western governments of supplying both drones and missiles to Russia for use in its war with Ukraine, a charge it has repeatedly denied.
New President Masoud Pezeshkian attended the annual parade in Tehran.
“Today, our defensive and deterrent capabilities have grown so much that no demon even thinks about any aggression towards our dear Iran,” he said.
“With unity and cohesion among Islamic countries… we can put in its place the bloodthirsty, genocidal usurper Israel, which shows no mercy to anyone, women or children, old or young.”
Middle East tensions have soared since Iran-backed Palestinian terror group Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, killing some 1,200 people and kidnapping 251, sparking war in Gaza and drawing in Iranian allies around the region.
The tensions have intensified in recent days as the focus of Israel’s firepower has shifted north to the Lebanon’s border where its troops have been battling Hezbollah. The Iranian-backed terror group has been attacking Israel since October 8, and has forced tens of thousands of residents of northern Israel from their homes.
