Iran’s Supreme Leader Responds To Israel’s Attack

The Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ayatollah Khamenei, responded to Israeli airstrikes in his first public message on Friday.

“The Zionist regime has opened its dirty and bloody hand to commit a crime in our beloved country at dawn today, and has revealed its evils more than ever before by targeting residential areas,” he said. “This regime must expect severe punishment. The strong hand of the armed forces of the Islamic Republic will not abandon it, God willing.”

Khamenei confirmed that some Iranian leaders and scientists were killed in the Israeli strikes. He added that their “successors and colleagues will return to their positions immediately.”

“With this crime, the Zionist regime has prepared for itself a bitter and painful fate, and it will surely meet it.”

Hossein Salami, the commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, was killed by an Israeli strike, according to Iranian state media. Other top Iranian military officials and nuclear scientists are believed to have been killed as well.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu released a video statement announcing Israel’s new operation against Iran, dubbed “Rising Lion.”

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In the video, Netanyahu explains why Israel believed it was an act of self defense to attack Iranian nuclear sites on Thursday night.

“The Jewish State refuses to be a victim of the nuclear Holocaust perpetrated by the Iranian regime,” Netanyahu said.

He said Israel’s strikes targeted nuclear enrichment sites, weaponization sites, nuclear scientists, and sites related to Iran’s ballistic missile program.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that the United States was not involved in Israel’s strikes.

“Tonight, Israel took unilateral action against Iran,” Rubio said. “We are not involved in strikes against Iran and our top priority is protecting American forces in the region.”