Jul 29, 2014

During his Eid al-Fitr address July 29, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei spent a considerable portion of his speech discussing the war in Gaza. He condemned Israel and called the attacks on Gaza “genocide.”

In response to calls by Western nations to disarm Hamas, Ayatollah Khamenei said, “What do you mean, disarm? They have a few missiles to briefly defend themselves against the enemy.” He said the West wants to disarm Hamas so that “Whenever the Zionists want they can attack, light any fire, and [Gazans] would not even be allowed to defend themselves.”

He continued, “The president of America issued a fatwa that the resistance must be disarmed. Yes, it’s clear, you want this [minimal] attack in response to all of these crimes not to happen. We say the opposite. All of the world, especially the Islamic world, has a responsibility: whatever it can do to equip the Palestinian people.

More than 1,000 Palestinians, mostly civilians, and more than 40 Israelis, mostly soldiers, have died since the war began July 8.

Ayatollah Khamenei delivered a speech to government officials for Eid al-Fitr in which he also spoke of Gaza's need for aid, both military and humanitarian, and the need for Islamic unity against Israel.