TEHRAN: Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei vowed “resistance” against Israel as Hezbollah held a funeral Sunday in Beirut for its leader Hassan Nasrallah, killed in an Israeli strike in September.
“The enemy should know that resistance against usurpation, oppression, and arrogance is never-ending and will continue until the desired goal is achieved,” Khamenei said in a statement published on his official website.
Nasrallah was killed alongside Iranian Revolutionary Guards general Abbas Nilforoushan in an Israeli strike on south Beirut on September 27.
Tens of thousands of mourners gathered in the Lebanese capital for the funeral of the Hezbollah chief and his heir apparent Hashem Safieddine, who was killed in a separate strike.
Khamenei praised Nasrallah as “a great mujahid (fighter) and prominent leader” and Safieddine as “a close confidant and an inseparable part of the leadership”
Iranian state television broadcast the funeral live, with an anchor reciting poems hailing “resistance” fighters.
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Hezbollah has long been part of the “axis of resistance”, an alliance of Iran-backed armed groups opposed to Israel and its ally the United States.
Iranian state media said gatherings would be held later Sunday in Tehran and other cities to mourn Nasrallah and Safieddine.
Nasrallah’s death was a huge blow to Iran, whose Revolutionary Guards established Hezbollah in 1982. It was also a blow to allied militias across the region, which also held him high regard.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi will attend the funeral ceremony at Lebanon’s biggest sports arena – Camille Chamoun Sports City Stadium on the outskirts of the Hezbollah-controlled southern suburbs, an Iranian official said.