In a meeting in the Khuzestan province of Iran, on the southern boundary of the country bordering Iraq and the Gulf states, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Hosseini Khamenei called Western civilization “crooked” and said “the right culture and correct logic of Islam will overcome it,” Iranian state media reported.
Just prior to that, in the same speech, the ayatollah said, “This is the real face of Western culture and civilization and liberal democracy, which on the outside are ironed politicians with smiles on their faces, but on the inside, it is a rabid dog and a bloodthirsty wolf.”
Khamenei discussed the war in Gaza, while condemning what he described as Western hypocrisy. “Westerners, who make noise and uproar for the execution of a criminal, face the slaughter of 30,000 innocent people in Gaza, and the United States brazenly vetoes the resolution to stop bombing Gaza for the umpteenth time.”
In another part of his speech, the ayatollah praised the people of Gaza, saying, “The resistance forces’ standing and the enemy’s dismay from their destruction, as well as the patience of the people of Gaza in the face of bombings and calamities, show a strong religious faith.”
Iran’s response to the October 7 massacre
Following the October 7 massacre, Ayatollah Khamenei praised Hamas, stating in a speech, “We kiss the foreheads and arms of those who planned the attack on the Zionist regime.”
In late December, General Ramezan Sharif, the spokesperson of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), took credit for the massacre, stating these were “acts of revenge” for the killing of “Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani by the US and the Zionists,” according to Iran’s state-sponsored news agency ISNA. Sharif retracted his claim after it was met with severe criticism.
In an interview with NBC in early February, Iranian ambassador to the UN Amir Saeid Iravani said referring to Palestinians, “We’re sending arms, we’re training them and empowering them.”
The Iranian regime is a well known state sponsor of terrorist organizations across the Middle East, including Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis, among others. In addition to funding the terror operations, they also provide training and intelligence for these organizations.
