'Israel won't last long' - Iran's supreme leader issues chilling message in rare public address

The supreme leader mourned the death of "martyred" Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah - and said Iran's retaliatory volley of ballistic missiles was "legal and legitimate".

Leading Friday's prayers in Iranian capital Tehran, he vowed that his country would not "procrastinate nor act hastily to carry out its duty" in confronting Israel.

While the semi-official Iranian news agency SNN quoted Revolutionary Guards deputy commander Ali Fadavi as saying that if Israel attacked, Iran would target Israeli energy and gas installations in return.

As the Ayatollah spoke, his social media profile released a translated series of ominous messages and spurious claims - as well as scathing attacks on Israel.

He wrote how it was the "responsibility of all Muslims to repay our debt to the wounded, bloodied Lebanon" and claimed Hezbollah's "jihad" was a "vital service to the entire region and the entire Muslim world".

Khamenei then took a swipe at the US and its allies for "ensuring the safety of the usurping regime" - and claimed their policy was to turn Israel into a "tool for seizing all the resources of this region".

LATEST ON IRAN AND ISRAEL:

• Iran issues chilling warning to Israel as it vows 'harsher reactions' with entire region on the brink of war
• Israel attacks mapped: Where could Netanyahu strike in retaliation to Iranian missiles?
• Israel and Iran could lead us to World War 3 - Starmer must do his damndest to prevent it - Nigel Nelson

The "Zionist regime", as he put it, "is fallacious and unstable" - and in his public address, labelled Israel a "vampire regime".

He also claimed the October 7 Hamas attack was justified - and continued to talk down Israel's recent military efforts.

Regardless of the Ayatollah's claims, Israel's military confirmed on Friday that it had eliminated the head of Hezbollah's communication networks, Mohammad Rashid Sakafi, by conducting a "precise, intelligence-based strike" in Beirut.

The IDF's ground offensive in Lebanon, labelled by the force as "limited, localised, and targeted raids", have so far resulted in the killing of 250 Hezbollah operatives.

And military officials have said that the IDF intends for the operations to end as quickly as possible, even within a few weeks.

Israeli defence minister Yoav Gallant said his country had "more surprises in store" for Hezbollah, which he said was "receiving very severe blows, one after the other".

He added: "We eliminated Nasrallah and we have more surprises in store, some of which have already been carried out and some of which will be carried out."

But the US, EU and other Western allies have called for an immediate 21-day ceasefire in Lebanon - with Sir Keir Starmer saying today that he is doing "everything he can" to help de-escalate the situation in the Middle East.