Iran's supreme leader said Israel is wrong to believe it can eradicate Hezbollah in Lebanon or that an “axis of resistance” of Tehran's allies in the region was finished.
State TV quoted Ali Khamenei as saying during a recent meeting that “the Zionist regime, in its delusion, believes it is preparing itself through Syria to encircle and eradicate Hezbollah forces, but the one that will be eradicated is Israel.”
Khamenei also added that Israel and the United States “thought the issue of resistance was over. They are gravely mistaken.”
Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said Iran will use every opportunity to mobilize the regional and international community to stop what he called Israeli aggression against neighboring countries like Syria, Yemen and others.
He also said that the Syrian people are the only ones who can decide on their country's future after the fall of President Bashar Assad, a Tehran ally. “Naturally, the regional countries should assist in this process without any destructive interference or any form of pressure and threats against the political actors in Syria.”
Baghaei urged regional countries to put pressure on the UN Security Council to stop Israel’s occupation in Syria and said, “Ultimately, the entire occupied Golan Heights of Syria must be liberated.”
Israeli troops have seized a border buffer zone, sparking condemnation, with critics accusing Israel of violating the 1974 ceasefire and possibly exploiting the chaos in Syria for a land grab. Israel captured the Golan Heights in the 1967 Mideast war and annexed it, though the international community except for the US regards it as occupied.
