Iran’s Khamenei to give rare Friday sermon as FM Abbas Araghchi visits Beirut

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Iran’s Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is set to lead Friday prayers and deliver his first public sermon in almost five years, days after Iran launched a barrage of about 200 missiles at Israel.
Mr Khamenei, who wields the highest authority in Iran, will lead prayers at the Imam Khomeini Grand Mosalla Mosque in central Tehran, his official website said. The prayer will follow “a commemoration ceremony” for Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed in an Israeli strike a week ago.
Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi arrived in Lebanon on Friday to meet with the caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati. Mr Araghchi will also meet with the parliament speaker Nabih Berri, according to Lebanese media reports.
Mr Khamenei’s rare sermon is expected to shed light on the Islamic republic’s next move, as Iran and Israel move closer to a full-blown war, with the Israeli army intensifying attacks on Iranian-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon. The address also comes three days before the first anniversary of Israel’s war in Gaza, which began with the Hamas-led attack on southern Israeli settlements on October 7 last year.
The last time Mr Khamenei led Friday prayers was in January 2020, after Iran fired missiles at a US army base in Iraq. This was in response to an American strike that killed Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Quds Force commander Qassem Suleimani, near Baghdad International Airport.
Iran fired a salvo of ballistic missiles at Israel on Tuesday, stating it was in retaliation for Israel’s killing of Nasrallah, alongside an IRGC commander, Abbas Nilforoushan, and for the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran in July. It has warned that any retaliation from Israel will provoke a “stronger and more powerful” response.
The US called Iran’s attack “unacceptable” and said it was working with G7 allies for a co-ordinated response. However, President Joe Biden has made it clear that he would not support an Israeli strike on sites related to Tehran’s nuclear programme.
The southern suburbs of Beirut Thursday night witnessed one of the most intense air strikes of the current hostilities, believed to be targeting Hashem Safieddine, a potential successor to Nasrallah as Hezbollah leader.
The attacks came minutes after Hezbollah announced it had launched Fadi-2 missiles at a military base near the northern Israeli city of Haifa.