Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei addressed the Friday Prayers in Tehran’s Grand Mosalla Mosque on October 4, amid risks of an Israeli retaliation following Iran’s missile attack on October 1.

Iran fired around 200 missiles at Israel in response to the killing of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah on September 28, along with an Iranian top commander Abbas Nilforoushan. It was also a response to the assassination of Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran earlier on July 31, which Iran blamed on Israel.

In the first part of his sermon, he called for Muslim unity, noting that all Islamic nations have a common enemy.

He defended Hamas’ attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, saying it was a legitimate move based on international rules that recognise every nation’s right to defend its land.

The attack by the Palestinian militant group sparked the Gaza war that has now spilled into other regions, most significantly Lebanon.

Khamenei also said Iran’s October 1 strike was also completely legal and legitimate based on the same internationally recognised rules.

“We neither delay nor rush in fulfilling our duties,” he said.

Iran’s leader delivered the second part of his sermon in Arabic, addressing the entire Islamic world, especially the nations of Lebanon and Palestine.

He advised them not to lose hope after the loss of a prominent figure and not to doubt their cause.

“Increase your efforts and capabilities; double your solidarity; resist the aggressive enemy with strengthened faith and reliance, and thwart him.”

He stated that Israel considers the killing of civilians as a sign of its victory since it has not been able to harm resistance organisations. This, according to Khamenei, will result it increased motivation of the people who will tighten the siege on the regime and finally eliminate it.

“Every blow to the Zionist regime is a service to all humanity,” he said.

Khamenei also referred to the support of the United States and other Western states for Israel, saying it is aimed at turning the regime into a tool for seizing all the resources of this region.

“Their policy is to turn the regime into a gateway for exporting energy from the region to the Western world and importing goods and technology from the West to the region,” he said.

Before the Friday prayers, a memorial ceremony was held Nasrallah and Nilforoushan in the grand mosque.

Khamenei’s public appearance came amid reports suggesting that he had been taken to a secure location due to fears of an attack by Israel after Iran’s strike.

Some on social media viewed this move as the leader's reassurance to the nation that there is no danger from Israel, which has threatened to respond to Iran’s strike.

Khamenei last appeared in the Friday Prayers in 2020, after the United States assassinated top Iranian commander General Qasem Soleimani in Baghdad and after Iran’s retaliatory strike on an American base in Iraq.