Iranian Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei denies Tehran's involvement in Hamas attack on Israel

Iranian Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Tuesday (Oct 10), denied Tehran's involvement in the surprise assault launched by Hamas on Israel over the weekend, but voiced support for the militant group.

In his first televised speech since the attack, the leader said, "The supporters of the Zionist regime (Israel) and some people in the usurping regime (a reference to USA) have been spreading rumours over the past two or three days, including that Islamic Iran was behind this action. They are wrong."

"This destructive earthquake (Hamas' attack) has destroyed some critical structures (in Israel) which will not be repaired easily ... The Zionist regime's own actions are to blame for this disaster," Khamenei said at a military academy.

"Of course, we defend Palestine, we defend the struggles."

“We kiss the foreheads and arms of the resourceful and intelligent designers [of the operation] and the Palestinian youth,” he added.

He also urged "the whole Islamic world" to support the Palestinians.

Khamenei noted that while everyone spoke of the "defeat", he would emphasise the “irrevocability” of it.

Khamenei said Israel has suffered an "irreparable failure" on both "military and intelligence" fronts.

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"Everyone has spoken of the failure, I put the emphasis on its irreparability," he said.

Khamenei on Tuesday also warned countries in West Asia seeking to normalise ties with Israel that they "are betting on a losing horse".

"The definite position of the Islamic Republic is that countries that make the gamble of normalisation with Israel will lose. They are betting on a losing horse," Khamenei said.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in response to Khamenei's remarks that Iran's efforts to stop countries in the region from forging ties with Israel will fail, citing agreements it signed with Arab nations in 2020.

"Just as Iran hasn't prevented us from achieving the Abraham Accords, Iran will also not prevent us from expanding the circle of peace for the benefit of the citizens of Israel, the people of the region and all of humanity," he said.

Earlier, soon after the Hamas offensive on Saturday (Oct 7), Khamenei's senior adviser hailed it as a "proud operation".

"We support the proud Operation Al-Aqsa Flood," Yahya Rahim Safavi said using the codename for the operation announced by Hamas's armed wing, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades.

"We support this operation, and we are sure that the resistance front also supports this issue," added Safavi, a Revolutionary Guards general, in comments reported by the ISNA news agency. 

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi also backed the attack, calling it an act of self-defence by Palestinians.

(With inputs from agencies) 
 

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