Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, has pledged Tehran’s continued support for Hezbollah, declaring that “no path forward” exists except jihad and resistance against Israel and the United States.
The statement, published on social media platform X, was framed as a direct response to a letter from Hezbollah pledging allegiance to the Islamic Republic. Addressing Hezbollah Secretary-General Sheikh Naim Qassem and the group’s fighters, the 56-year-old Iranian leader stated that defending Hezbollah remains Iran’s “strategic mandate”—a stance aligning with policies established under his father, former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
In his message, Khamenei linked any potential resolution to Iran’s broader conflict with the U.S. to an immediate and unconditional halt of Israeli military operations in Lebanon. He praised Hezbollah as an “unyielding rock” leading the fight against Western and Israeli influence, adding that nations globally have grown tired of oppression by the U.S. and Israel.
Khamenei also paid tribute to fallen Hezbollah members, specifically highlighting former Secretary-General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed in joint U.S.-Israeli strikes. He noted that such sacrifices transformed the movement “from a sapling into a mighty tree,” concluding his message with prayers for Hezbollah’s fighters, displaced civilians, and families of those killed in the conflict.
