'Promise to eliminate Israel will be kept' – Iranian Supreme leader vows during President Raisi's funeral

Read this article in:

At the funeral of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, who was killed when his helicopter crashed on Monday, the Islamic Republic’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei reiterated his commitment to destroy Israel.

“The promise to eliminate Israel will be kept, and we will see the day when Palestine extends from the sea to the river,” Khamenei said while addressing Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, who was present at the funeral. Deputy Sec.-Gen. for Iran's Lebanese-based proxy, Hezbollah, Naim Qassem, was also present at the funeral.

Khamenei went on to praise Hamas and express his surprise at the PR success that the terrorist organization has had on U.S. campuses, where thousands have participated in anti-Israel demonstrations since the Oct. 7 massacre.

“The resistance of the people of Gaza has impressed the world. Who would have thought that American universities would support Palestine?” Khamenei said.

In his eulogy for the late Iranian leader, Haniyeh recalled Raisi's support for Hamas and his praise for Oct. 7 invasion and terror attack on Israel's southern border. According to Haniyeh, Raisi had described the attack as an “earthquake in the heart of the Zionist entity.” Haniyeh also delivered condolences on behalf of “the resistance factions in Gaza.”

“I come in the name of the Palestinian people, in the name of the resistance factions of Gaza... to express our condolences,” Haniyeh said.

“The president promised us that Iran will continue to support the Palestinian resistance until the aspirations of the people and the nation are met,” Haniyeh added. “We confirm that Gaza will continue its resistance until the entire land is liberated, with Jerusalem at its heart. We are convinced that Iran will continue its policy of support for the Palestinians alongside the leaders of the resistance axis.”

According to U.S.-based Iran expert, Dr. Hassan Hashemian, current and former commanders of Iran’s Quds Force managed and planned Oct. 7 attack.

Just weeks after the attack, The Wall Street Journal reported that about 500 terrorists from the Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) terror groups received combat training in Iran from the Foreign Operations Department of Iran’s Quds Force in September.

Since then, Iran has been waging a targeted, coordinated and destructive campaign of cyberattacks against Israel.

“As the Israel-Hamas war broke out on October 7, 2023, Iran immediately surged support to Hamas with its now well-honed technique of combining targeted hacks with influence operations amplified on social media; what we refer to as cyber-enabled influence operations,” according to a report published by the Microsoft Threat Analysis Center (MTAC) in February.

Raisi’s funeral, which was conducted as a procession through the cities of Tabriz and Qom, with the final burial in Raisi's hometown of Mashhad, was accompanied by chants of “Death to Israel” from those in attendance.

In addition to Raisi, Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, the Imam of Tabriz Mosque Ayatollah Al-Hashemi, and the governor of East Azerbaijan Province, Malik Rahmati, who accompanied Raisi on his helicopter, also died in the accident. The helicopter crashed in northwest Iran, in the mountainous Varzaghan area