NNA - The commemoration ceremony for Hezbollah's late Secretary General, Hassan Nasrallah, is currently taking place at Tehran's Grand Mosque, attracting thousands of attendees. According to the Iranian news agency Mehr, the event also honors Abbas Nilforooshan, a general in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), who was killed alongside Nasrallah in an Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) strike in Beirut on September 27.

During the Friday prayer sermon that followed the funeral for Nasrallah, Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, declared, “Strategic patience is over.” This doctrine, which Khamenei has employed to buy time for bolstering Iran's political, diplomatic, and military clout, seeks to enhance Tehran's nuclear deterrence capabilities by enriching uranium to levels sufficient for potential nuclear weapon development.

Khamenei asserted that Muslim nations face a common adversary, urging them to "tighten the defense belt from Afghanistan to Yemen, from Iran to Gaza and Lebanon.” He emphasized that “every country has the right to defend itself.”

The Ayatollah characterized Hamas’ October 7 attack on Israel as a “legitimate operation,” paralleling it with Tehran’s missile strikes against the Jewish state the following Tuesday. He noted that “Israel’s actions have intensified the anger of the Axis of Resistance,” a coalition of Iranian-aligned regional armed groups, and have reinforced their resolve. He criticized Israel for claiming victory through ongoing assassinations and civilian casualties, asserting, “We will not rush or delay our response” to the actions of the Jewish state.

Khamenei last led the Friday prayers following the assassination of Qassem Soleimani, the former commander of the IRGC's Qods Force, who was killed in a U.S. drone strike at Baghdad International Airport on January 3, 2020.--agencies 

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