Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and Israel’s former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett. (File photo)
Iran’s supreme leader said wars and conflicts will come to an end if the United States and European countries leave the West Asia region.
Hours after Iran fired a barrage of ballistic missiles targetting Israel’s military bases and the headquarters of Mossad (Israel’s intelligence service), the country’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Wednesday said all conflicts in the Middle East would come to an end if the United States and European countries stopped interfering.
He said, “The root of the problem in our region, these conflicts and wars, is the presence of those who claim to advocate peace in the region. That is, the United States and some European countries.”
The root of the problem in our region, these conflicts and wars, is the presence of those who claim to advocate peace in the region. That is, the United States and some European countries.— Khamenei.ir (@khamenei_ir) October 2, 2024
Khamenei expressed grief on the death of Lebanon’s Hezbollah leader and one of its founding members, Hassan Nasrallah, and said, “It deeply saddened me.”
We are mourning these days. I am deeply grieved in particular. The tragedy which took place was not something small. The loss of Mr. Sayyid Hassan #Nasrallah is very important, and it truly grieves us.— Khamenei.ir (@khamenei_ir) October 2, 2024
Hezbollah confirmed on Saturday that Nasrallah, was killed in an Israeli airstrike in a southern suburb of Beirut.
The killing of the powerful militant group’s longtime leader sent shockwaves throughout Lebanon and the Middle East, where he has been a dominant political and military figure for more than three decades.
Nasrallah, linked by Israel to numerous deadly attacks on Israeli and Jewish targets, had been on Israel’s kill list for decades. His assassination is by far the biggest and most consequential of Israel’s targeted killings in years, and significantly escalates the war in the Middle East. Hezbollah is backed by Iran, Israel’s chief regional rival.
Naftali Bennett Differs
However, Israel’s former premier, Naftali Bennett, has a different point of view on the Middle East crisis and possible solutions to end it once and for all. He sees it as an opportunity for his country to change the face of the region. He said Prime Minister said Israel must act now and destroy Iran’s nuclear programme and energy facilities.
Israel has now its greatest opportunity in 50 years, to change the face of the Middle East.The leadership of Iran, which used to be good at chess, made a terrible mistake this evening.
We must act *now* to destroy Iran’s nuclear program, its central energy facilities, and to…
— Naftali Bennett נפתלי בנט (@naftalibennett) October 1, 2024
Sharing his views on social media platform X, Bennett wrote, “Israel has now its greatest opportunity in 50 years, to change the face of the Middle East. The leadership of Iran, which used to be good at chess, made a terrible mistake this evening. We must act now to destroy Iran’s nuclear program, its central energy facilities, and to fatally cripple this terrorist regime. To strike the head of the octopus of terror, that, in its cowardice, sent its tentacles (Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis, etc.) to murder us, while the Ayatollahs sat safely in their palaces in Tehran.”
Iran unleashed its largest-ever attack on Israel, firing 200 ballistic missiles late Tuesday most of which were intercepted by anti-missile defenses employed by Israel, the United States, and Jordan, according to those countries’ governments. The massive attack has left a trail of destruction, and forced Israelis to stay cooped up in shelters and evacuate their homes.
The aerial assault, far more serious than a similar strike in April, has raised the stakes in what is already an extremely tense moment across the Middle East as a dangerous regional conflict spirals.
