Iran’s Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is hiding with extra security after Hezbollah leader’s death: report

Sources speaking to Reuters said that Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is in hiding and remains in a safe place within the country.

The decision came in response to Israeli attacks outside Beirut on Friday that killed the leader and founding member of the Iran-backed terrorist organization Hezbollah. Hassan Nasrallah.

Both sources told Reuters that Iran is communicating with Hezbollah and other proxy forces in the region to determine what action it will take in response to Nasrallah’s killing.

“The fate of this region will be determined by the resistance forces, of which Hezbollah is at the forefront,” Khamenei said in a statement on Saturday. he said.

Israeli Forces Announce Hamas Leader Killed in Attack in Southern Syria

Khamenei, who declared five days of mourning, described Nasrallah as the “standard bearer of the resistance” in the region.

“The blood of the martyr will not be avenged,” Khamenei said, according to Reuters.

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Iranian media reported that the deputy commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, Abbas Nilforushan, was also killed in Israeli attacks outside the Lebanese capital on Saturday.

In addition to the attack that killed Nasrallah, Israel also killed several senior Hezbollah commanders in Beirut, especially in the last two weeks.

Earlier this month, thousands of explosives hidden in pagers and walkie-talkies According to officials in Lebanon, the explosive used by Hezbollah detonated, killing at least a dozen people and injuring thousands more. Israel is believed to be behind the attack, but Israeli responsibility has yet to be confirmed or denied.

Reuters quoted an Iranian security official as saying that the Revolutionary Guard was carrying out a large-scale operation to control all communication devices.

Most of the devices These weapons were produced in Lebanon or imported from China and Russia, the official said, as Iran conducts an extensive investigation into mid- and senior-level members of the Revolutionary Guard.

Iran is considering the possibility of infiltration by Israeli agents, including Iranians paid by Israel, the official told Reuters.

In response to Nasrallah’s death, hundreds of protesters took to the streets of Tehran, waving Hezbollah flags and chanting “Death to Israel” and “Death to murderer Netanyahu,” according to the Associated Press.

Iranian President Massoud Pezeshkian partially blamed the United States for Nasrallah’s killing, given that Washington was supplying weapons to Israel.

“Americans cannot deny their complicity with the Zionists,” he said in a statement published on state media, according to Reuters.

Israel Targeted Hezbollah Leader Nasrallah in Attack on His Headquarters in Beirut

Hezbollah began firing rockets at Israel in support of Gaza on October 8, a day after Hamas terrorists launched an unprecedented attack on Israel, killing nearly 1,200 people and taking 250 hostages.

Since then, both sides have been increasing cross-border attacks. Iran’s proxies These include Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen and other forces operating in Iraq. Following the October 7 attacks, the Houthis have been attacking Israel along the Yemeni coast with missiles and ships in the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea.

In his first public statement since Nasrallah’s killing, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel’s targeting of Nasrallah was “an indispensable condition for achieving the goals we have set.”

“He was not just another terrorist. He was a terrorist,” Netanyahu said.

Netanyahu said killing Nasrallah would help displaced Israelis return to their homes in the north and would pressure Hamas to release Israeli hostages held in Gaza. But he warned that the coming days would bring “significant challenges” as the threat of retaliation was high, and warned Iran against attempting an attack.

of Iran UN Ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani wrote a letter to the heads of the United Nations and Security Council on Saturday calling for an emergency council meeting on the attack that killed Nasrallah.

“Using thousand-pound US-supplied bunker busters,” he wrote, Israel killed Nasrallah and Nilforoushan, among others.

He warned Israel not to attack diplomatic or consular buildings or its representatives, according to the AP.

“Iran will not hesitate to take any measures to exercise its natural rights under international law to defend its vital national and security interests,” Iravani wrote.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Original article source: Iran’s Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is hiding with extra security after Hezbollah leader’s death: report