A day after Israeli airstrikes, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Sunday said that Tel Aviv’s attack should not be exaggerated nor downplayed. He added that Iranian officials should determine how best to demonstrate its power to Israel.
Amid tensions in the Middle East, world leaders including Qatar, and France have expressed concerns about further escalation with Iran’s possible retaliation.
The miscalculations of the Israeli regime must be disrupted, Khamenei added. It is essential to make them understand the strength, will, and initiative of the Iranian nation and its youth, he added.
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Also, Khamenei has opened a new Hebrew-language account on X after the Israel airstrikes. "In the name of Allah the merciful and compassionate," read his first post.
The account has already crossed 10,000 followers.
Khamenei reposted the Hebrew post on his official English account, Khamenei. ir, which is verified and has over one million followers.
Reportedly, 85-year-old Khamenei is "seriously ill". Though there is no official confirmation regarding the health condition of the Iranian leader, concerns about his health raised confusion about who will succeed him.
Iran's Supreme Leader's second son Mojtaba Khamenei (55) is likely to succeed him, according to reports.
Former President Ebrahim Raisi, the potential successor of Khamenei, died in a chopper crash in May.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday said that Israel's strikes severely harmed Iran and that the barrage achieved all its goals.
Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said that Iran is no longer able to
effectively use its proxies Hamas in the Gaza Strip and Hezbollah in Lebanon against Israel.
"Over the past year, the security establishment led by the Israel Defense Forces turned the tide of the war and had unprecedented achievements in all arenas of fighting," he said.
Gallant also said that Hamas was no longer functioning as a military network in Gaza. Hezbollah’s senior command and most of its missile capabilities had been wiped out, he added.