Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on Wednesday accused the United States of being complicit in the “crimes” being committed in Gaza by Israel.
“The US is definitely the Zionist regime’s accomplice in its crimes against Gaza. In fact, it is the US that is orchestrating the crimes being committed in Gaza,” Khamenei said in a speech remarks from which were posted on his official account on the social media platform X.
“The blood of the oppressed children of Gaza is on the US’s hands,” he added.
Khamenei contended that the reason for Western leaders’ visits to Israel following the October 7 attack by the Palestinian militant group Hamas was “because they see that the Zionist regime is falling apart.”
“The Zionist regime has suffered a decisive blow. It has been wounded and is crippled. The West is struggling to keep it on its feet using weapons and bombs.”
The latest escalation of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict began when Hamas militants crossed into Israel from its southern border on October 7, killing more than 1,400 people, according to Israeli officials. Israel has responded with relentless air and artillery strikes on Gaza that have killed more than 6,000 people, according to health authorities in Gaza.
Tehran, a key source of financial and military support for Hamas, praised the October 7 Hamas attack while denying any involvement in its planning or execution.
Israel has long accused Iran of exacerbating violence by supplying arms to Hamas. Tehran refuses to recognize Israel and has made support for the Palestinian cause a fundamental component of its foreign policy since the Islamic Revolution of 1979.
For years, Iran and Israel have engaged in a covert conflict, with Iran accusing Israel of orchestrating sabotage attacks and assassinations targeting its nuclear program.