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Israel ‘not a country, but a terrorist base’: Khamenei

By AFP
May 08, 2021

TEHRAN: Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Friday called Israel “not a country, but a terrorist base” and urged Muslim nations to fight it, as they mark an annual day of pro-Palestinian rallies.

“Israel is not a country, but a terrorist base against the nation of Palestine and other Muslim nations,” Khamenei said in live televised remarks marking Al-Quds (Jerusalem) Day.

“Fighting this despotic regime is fighting oppression and terrorism, and (doing so) is everyone’s duty,” he added. His remarks came amid high tensions between the regional arch-foes, following a series of maritime attacks, an explosion at an Iranian nuclear facility and the assassination of a top nuclear scientist, which Tehran blamed on Israel.

Khamenei also stressed that “the decline of the enemy Zionist regime has begun and will not stop”. He blasted Israel’s normalisation of ties with “some weak Arab governments” as attempts to undermine “the nightmare of Muslim unity,” calling on Palestinians to continue their resistance and for Muslim governments to support them. Iran does not recognise the State of Israel, and supporting the Palestinian cause has been a pillar of Iran’s foreign policy since the 1979 revolution.