Iran’s religious leader says no signs of defeat for the Lebanese Shiite militia Hezbollah, in spite of the killing of high-ranking commanders in attacks by Israel.

“Without doubt it was a loss for Hezbollah, but it was not a loss that would bring about its defeat,” Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, 85, said at a veterans’ event in Tehran on Wednesday.

He added that Hezbollah’s organisational and human strength was far greater.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi warned against underestimating Hezbollah.

“It is more than capable of destroying the bases and colonies of the Israeli regime,” he wrote on the X platform.

Hezbollah has been considered Iran’s most important ally in the Middle East for many years, but observers consider it unlikely that Tehran would rush to its aid in the event of war between it and Israel.

Iran’s new government, led by President Masoud Pezeshkian, is struggling with a severe economic crisis and is seeking to re-establish ties with the West.

The military and political leadership in Tehran has so far only made threats against Israel and the West but has not carried out any direct attacks. 

(dpa/NAN)