Mojtaba Khamenei praises Hezbollah, calls for continued jihad, attacks against Israel

ByGOLDIE KATZJULY 27, 2026 01:40Updated: JULY 27, 2026 01:45Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei called for continued jihadist attacks against Israel, while praising the Lebanese terrorist organization Hezbollah in a series of statements attributed to him on Sunday.In the statements, which were released in response to a Hezbollah letter pledging allegiance to Iran’s Islamic Republic, Khamenei allegedly asserted that “there remains no path forward except jihad and resistance” against the US and Israel.He continued to claim that Hezbollah’s steadfast commitment to terrorism has “become an inspiring message” for those in pursuit of “liberation from global arrogance” and “divine victory.”People attend a gathering to pay tribute to Iran’s late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and to show support for Iran’s new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, inside the Iranian embassy in Beirut, Lebanon, April 22, 2026. (credit: REUTERS/MARKO DJURICA)Defense of Hezbollah is Iran's 'strategic mandate,' Khamenei saysKhamenei was also quoted as stating that, in line with policy set by Khamenei’s father and previous supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the defense of Hezbollah is Iran’s “strategic mandate.”He also allegedly asserted that Iran’s primary condition for reaching a peace agreement with the US is the halting of all Israeli operations against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon.Khamenei also lamented the killing of former Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed by Israeli strikes in 2024. He described Nasrallah as “Hezbollah’s master of martyrs,” crediting him with growing Hezbollah from a “sapling of Islamic resistance into a mighty tree.”Follow us on Google