Khamenei acknowledges a blow to the resistance front with Sinwar’s death 

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The Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, confirmed on Saturday that the Hamas movement “is alive and will remain alive” despite the death of its political bureau chief, Yahya Sinwar, in an Israeli military operation. Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghtchi criticized statements made by U.S. President Joe Biden regarding the imminent Israeli strike on Tehran.

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Sinwar was killed on Wednesday in an armed clash with Israeli forces after a year-long pursuit, and his death was announced on Thursday.

In a statement, Khamenei said: “There is no doubt that his loss is painful for the resistance front, but this front has not faltered in moving forward with the martyrdom of prominent figures.”

Iran does not recognize the state of Israel and has made supporting the Palestinian cause a cornerstone of its foreign policy since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

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Khamenei added that Yahya Sinwar “was a prominent symbol of resistance and jihad” against Israel.

He said: “He stood firm with iron determination against the oppressive and aggressive enemy and delivered a slap with wisdom and courage, immortalizing the memory of October 7 in the history of this region, which cannot be compensated for, and then ascended to the ranks of the martyrs with dignity and pride.”

The resistance axis, which was formed over the years with Iran’s support, includes Hamas, the Lebanese Hezbollah, the Houthi movement in Yemen, and various Shia groups in Iraq and Syria. These groups describe themselves as resisting Israel and American influence in the Middle East.

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Israel accuses Yahya Sinwar, who remained in the shadows for a long time before taking over as the head of Hamas this summer, of being the mastermind behind the unprecedented attack launched by the movement on Israel on October 7, 2023, which sparked the war in Gaza.

On the eve of his appointment as the head of Hamas’ political bureau in August, following the assassination of his predecessor, Ismail Haniyeh, in Tehran at the end of July in a strike attributed to Israel, Iran’s Supreme Leader had published on his website a video of a rare meeting with Sinwar dating back to 2011.

At that time, Yahya Sinwar was part of a delegation of the Palestinian Islamic movement led by Haniyeh to Tehran.

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Furthermore, the Iranian Foreign Minister responded today, Saturday, to a statement made by the U.S. president in which he mentioned being aware of how and when Israel would strike Iran, saying that anyone who knows “how and when Israel will attack Iran” should be held accountable.

Araghtchi added on platform X: “Anyone who knows or understands ‘how and when Israel will attack Iran,’ and/or provides the means and support for such folly, should logically be held responsible for any potential human casualties.”

Speaking to reporters at the end of a visit to Berlin on Friday, Biden said he was aware of how and when Israel would respond to the missile attacks launched by Iran against Israel earlier this month in retaliation for the assassination of Hamas’ political bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran on July 31, and Hezbollah’s Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah and Iranian General Abbas Nilforoushan, responsible for the Lebanon file in the Quds Force, who were killed alongside Nasrallah in an Israeli raid on Beirut on September 27.

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Biden also said: “There is an opportunity, in my opinion, and my colleagues agree with me on this, that we can probably deal with Israel and Iran in a way that ends the conflict for some time. This ends the conflict, in other words, it stops mutual escalation.”

He added that he believed there was a possibility to work towards a ceasefire in Lebanon, but it would be more difficult in Gaza. The Washington Post reported last Monday that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had informed the United States that Israel was prepared to strike Iranian military targets, but not nuclear or oil facilities.

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