Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was transferred to a secure location inside the country with heightened security measures in place on Saturday, two regional officials briefed by Tehran told Reuters.
The sources said Iran was in constant contact with Lebanon’s Hezbollah and other regional proxy groups to determine the next step after Israel killed Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah in a strike on south Beirut on Friday.
Following the announcement that Nasrallah had been killed, Khamenei condemned what he called an Israeli “massacre” in Lebanon. The death toll in the massive strike that flattened six buildings above Hezbollah’s headquarters is not yet clear, but is expected to be significant.
“The massacre of the defenseless people in Lebanon once again revealed the ferocity of the Zionist rabid dog to everyone, and proved the shortsighted and stupid policy of the leaders of the usurping regime,” he said.
Iran announced on Saturday that a prominent general in its paramilitary Revolutionary Guard was also killed alongside Nasrallah in the strike on Friday.
Khamenei called on Muslims “to stand by the people of Lebanon and the proud Hezbollah with whatever means they have and assist them in confronting the… wicked regime [of Israel].”
He added that the fate of the region would be “determined by the forces of resistance, with Hezbollah at the forefront,” state media reported.
While he did not explicitly mention Nasrallah, Khamenei insisted on letting “the Zionist criminals know that they are far too insignificant to cause any major damage to the strong structure of Hezbollah in Lebanon.”
In recent weeks, Israel has eliminated the majority of Hezbollah’s top leadership in a series of targeted strikes, raising questions on how the group would reorganize and who could replace Nasrallah.
“Lebanon will make the aggressor and the evil enemy regretful,” Khamenei vowed.
Meanwhile, Iran’s foreign ministry said on Saturday that Nasrallah’s path would continue despite his killing.
“The glorious path of the leader of the resistance, Hassan Nasrallah, will continue and his sacred goal will be realized in the liberation of Quds (Jerusalem), God willing,” foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani said in a post on X.
Khamenei also blamed Washington for the escalation in Lebanon, which follows attacks last week that blew up pagers and hand-held radios distributed by Hezbollah. The terrorist organization blamed the attack on Israel, which did not take responsibility for the explosions.
Since October 8, Hezbollah-led forces have attacked Israeli communities and military posts along the border on a near-daily basis, with the group saying it is doing so to support Gaza amid the war there.
So far, the skirmishes have resulted in 26 civilian deaths on the Israeli side, as well as the deaths of 22 IDF soldiers and reservists. There have also been several attacks from Syria, without any injuries.
Hezbollah has named 513 members who have been killed by Israel during the ongoing skirmishes, mostly in Lebanon but some also in Syria. Another 88 operatives from other terror groups, a Lebanese soldier, and dozens of civilians have also been killed.
Since Israel escalated its airstrikes on the Hezbollah terror group on Monday, more than 630 people have been killed in Lebanon, according to the country’s health ministry.
At least a quarter of those killed have been women and children, according to Lebanese health officials. More than 2,000 were wounded. Israel has said that many Hezbollah operatives are among the dead.