From the Liveblog of
Friday, October 4, 2024
Iran’s Khamenei to give rare Friday sermon following missile attack on Israel
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on Google
TEHRAN, Iran — Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is set to lead Friday prayers and deliver a public sermon that could shed light on the Islamic Republic’s plans after a massive missile attack on enemy Israel.
Khamenei’s rare Friday sermon — a first in almost five years — comes three days before the one-year anniversary of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, triggered by the Iran-backed Palestinian terror group’s October 7 attack.
The supreme leader, who wields the highest authority in Iran, will lead Muslims in prayer at the Imam Khomeini Grand Mosalla mosque in central Tehran, his official website says.
The prayer will follow “a commemoration ceremony” at 10:30 a.m. local time for Hassan Nasrallah, the slain leader of Tehran-backed Lebanese terror movement Hezbollah.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, who answer to Khamenei, said Tuesday’s barrages of some 200 missiles were in retaliation for Israel’s killing of Nasrallah alongside Guards commander Abbas Nilforoushan in a late September strike on Beirut, and of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran in July.
Khamenei last led Friday prayers in January 2020 after Iran fired missiles at a US army base in Iraq, in response to a strike that killed revered Revolutionary Guards commander Qassem Soleimani.
The Times of Israel Community.