Politics Iran's religious leader: Hezbollah will not fall

Despite the killing of high-ranking Hezbollah commanders, Iran's religious leader sees no signs of a defeat for the Shia organization.

"No doubt it was a loss for Hezbollah, but it was not a loss that would bring Hezbollah down," Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (85) said at an event for veterans in Tehran. Hezbollah's organizational and human strength is far greater, he added.

Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi warned against underestimating Hezbollah. "Hezbollah's true power lies in its capabilities and its popular support. It is more than capable of destroying the bases and colonies of the Israeli regime," he wrote on Platform X.

Hezbollah has been Iran's most important ally in the Middle East for years. Observers consider it unlikely that Tehran would rush to its aid in the event of a war. Iran's new government under President Massud Peseshkian is struggling with a severe economic crisis and is trying to forge a rapprochement with the West. However, Tehran's military and political leaders have recently made threats.

SDA