Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is scheduled to lead Friday prayers—his first in five years—where he is expected to deliver a public sermon that could provide insights into the Islamic Republic’s next steps following a recent large-scale missile attack on its adversaries.
Khamenei’s address, reported by the AFP news agency citing Khamenei’s office, comes amid heightened regional tensions, with analysts anticipating statements on Iran’s strategic direction in the wake of the assault.
The decision to hold such a rare sermon is a significant move that comes just days before the one-year anniversary of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, which began following an October 7 attack by Iran-backed Palestinian militants.
Khamenei, who holds the highest authority in Iran, will lead prayers at the Imam Khomeini Grand Mosalla mosque in central Tehran, according to a statement on his official website.
Khamenei’s sermon later on Friday will be held against the backdrop of escalating conflict in the Middle East, with Israel’s ground operation against Hezbollah in Lebanon having claimed over 100 lives on Thursday according to the Lebanese Health Ministry, over 70 villages in the south of the country under Israeli evacuation orders and the nation’s capital Beirut under attack by Israeli warplanes.
Flames and smoke rise from Israeli airstrikes in Dahiyeh, Beirut, Lebanon, Friday, Oct. 4, 2024. It is feared oil prices will surge to their greatest levels in a year due to Middle East conflicts.
Hussein Malla/AP
Israel confirmed eight of its soldiers have been killed, two Lebanese soldiers have been reported killed and over 200 Hezbollah targets have been destroyed according to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).
Hezbollah leader targeted
Hashem Safieddine, a senior Hezbollah leader once presumed heir of assassinated cleric Hassan Nasrallah, was the target of an Israeli strike in Lebanon, Israeli and U.S. media reported on Thursday.
Senior Hezbollah leader Hashem Safieddine speaks during a conference for Saudi opposition in the southern Beirut suburb of Dahiyeh, Lebanon, Wednesday, Jan. 12, 2022. . The IDF confirmed the Hezbollah leader has been targeted.
Bilal Hussein/AP
Safieddine was in a Beirut bunker struck by Israeli aircraft on Wednesday, Axios reported, citing unnamed Israeli officials. The New York Times also cited Israeli officials without naming them in its account of the attack in the Lebanese capital, while Israeli media cited Lebanese officials. None of the reports made clear whether Safieddine had been killed.
Newsweek contacted the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) for comment.
Oil price heading for yearly high
Oil is on track for its strongest week in over a year as escalating tensions in the Middle East spark fears of a broader regional conflict.
Brent crude, the global benchmark, stabilized at just under $78 per barrel following a sharp 5% surge, spurred by President Joe Biden‘s confirmation that the U.S. is weighing support for potential Israeli strikes on Iranian oil facilities.
Crude prices have climbed nearly 8% this week, the highest increase since April 2023, as markets react to the possibility of a wider war in the Middle East impacting global energy supplies.
It is feared if Israel were to strike Kharg Island, where 90 percent of Iran’s crude oil passes through then world economies could be thrown into chaos as the price of goods rockets to levels not seen since the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
