‘All Muslims must stand against Israel,’ says Iran’s leader Khamenei after transfer to safe location

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei called on all Muslims to stand against Israel, shortly after being transferred to a more secure location following the confirmation that Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah was killed in a strike in Beirut.

After the Israel Defense Forces confirmed Nasrallah’s death on Saturday morning, Reuters reported that Khamenei was transferred to another location inside Iran amid heightened security measures.

On Friday evening, the Iranian embassy in Beirut threatened that the strike on Nasrallah had “changed the rules of the game” and would be answered by “the appropriate punishment.”

“The killing of defenseless people in Lebanon once again revealed the ferocity of the Zionist rabid dog to everyone and proved the short-sightedness and stupid policy of the leaders of the usurping regime,” blustered Khamenei in a written statement.

“The Zionist criminals should know that they are too small to cause significant damage to the strong construction of Hezbollah in Lebanon,” he added.

“All the resistance forces of the region are with Hezbollah and support it… It is obligatory for all Muslims to stand proudly with the people of Lebanon and Hezbollah with their resources and help it in confronting the usurping, oppressive and evil regime.”

In a first comment, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said the U.S. "cannot deny its complicity" in Nasrallah's killing, according to Reuters.

Sources told Reuters the Iranian regime was in constant contact with Hezbollah and its network of proxy militias across the region to decide on any future action.

Tehran is preparing to deploy troops to Lebanon and the Syrian Golan Heights to assist Hezhbollah, an Iranian official told NBC News.

“We can send forces to Lebanon to fight against Israel, just as we did in the year 1981,” said Ayatollah Mohammad Hassan Akhtari, Iran’s deputy for international affairs.

On Saturday, an Iranian plane operated by Qeshm Fars Air, bound for Beirut Airport, made a U-turn and returned to Iran amid reports that Lebanon’s Transport Minister Ali Hamiya had ordered it not to land in Beirut after the IDF took over control tower communications and threatened to attack the flight upon landing.

IRGC affiliated Qeshm Fars Air, EP-FAB had done a U-turn over Syria earlier today, EP-FAB has an infamous record of moving drones and munitions on behalf of IRGC to multiple areas of the Middle East and further. pic.twitter.com/bZrHbVl435

— Aurora Intel (@AuroraIntel) September 28, 2024

The incident followed IDF Spokesman Brig.-Gen. Daniel Hagari’s on Friday that Israeli aircraft were circling over the airport in Beirut, ready to intercept any shipment bound for Hezbollah.