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Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei praised the Hamas-led October 7 attacks against Israel, during a rare Friday sermon in Tehran.
Mr Khamenei defended his country's ballistic missile attack on Tuesday as “minimum punishment” for the Israelis' “crimes” and said Iran will not hesitate to strike Israel again. Resistance movements supported by Tehran will also continue, he added.
His remarks came hours after an Israeli strike was aimed at Hashem Safieddine, who is seen as most likely to succeed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, killed in an Israeli strike a week ago.
“The brilliant action of our armed forces a couple of nights ago was completely legal and legitimate,” Mr Khamenei said, referring to Iran's missile barrage towards Israel. He was speaking at a commemoration ceremony for Nasrallah after leading prayers at the Imam Khomeini Grand Mosalla Mosque in central Tehran for the first time in five years.
Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi who arrived in Lebanon on Friday morning said his visit while Lebanon was under attack was a show of solidarity to the people of Lebanon.
Defending his country's missile attack on Israel on Tuesday, he said other regional governments should also "display steadfastness in their support for Lebanon".
Mr Araghchi, who also met Prime Minister Najib Mikati and Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, said Iran supports a ceasefire in Lebanon provided it was backed by Hezbollah and comes with a ceasefire in Gaza as well.
Back in Iran, Mr Khamenei urged Muslims to “unite” against a common enemy, be it in Afghanistan, Yemen, Gaza, or Lebanon. In the first part of his speech, delivered in Persian, he urged Palestinian fighters not to become “weakened in the face of bloodshed”.
He said Israel will never be victorious over Hamas or Hezbollah and that its recent actions have only strengthened resistance movements.
Shortly after Israel launched its war against Hamas in Gaza, Iran-backed militias across the Middle East announced a “unity front” to support their Palestinian ally, focusing mainly on co-ordinating attacks against Israeli targets.
“The resistance in the region will not back down,” Mr Khamenei said.
Mr Khamenei's sermon came three days before the anniversary of Israel's war in Gaza.
The last time he led Friday prayers was in January 2020, after Iran fired missiles at a US army base in Iraq. Tehran said that attack was in response to a US strike that killed Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Quds Force general 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. Iran 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. But President Joe Biden has made it clear he would not support an Israeli strike on sites related to Tehran’s nuclear programme.
The southern suburbs of Beirut on Thursday night faced one of the most intense air strikes of the continuing hostilities. The attacks came minutes after Hezbollah announced it had launched Fadi-2 missiles towards a military base near the northern Israeli city of Haifa.
Most sought after workplace benefits in the UAE
- Flexible work arrangements
- Pension support
- Mental well-being assistance
- Insurance coverage for optical, dental, alternative medicine, cancer screening
- Financial well-being incentives
The five pillars of Islam
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Second Test
In Dubai
Pakistan 418-5 (declared)
New Zealand 90 and 131-2 (follow on)
Day 3: New Zealand trail by 197 runs with 8 wickets remaining
The biog
Family: He is the youngest of five brothers, of whom two are dentists.
Celebrities he worked on: Fabio Canavaro, Lojain Omran, RedOne, Saber Al Rabai.
Where he works: Liberty Dental Clinic
World Cup League Two
Results
Oman beat Nepal by 18 runs
Oman beat United States by six wickets
Nepal beat United States by 35 runs
Oman beat Nepal by eight wickets
Fixtures
Tuesday, Oman v United States
Wednesday, Nepal v United States
Sri Lanka squad for tri-nation series
Angelo Mathews (c), Upul Tharanga, Danushka Gunathilaka, Kusal Mendis, Dinesh Chandimal, Kusal Janith Perera, Thisara Perera, Asela Gunaratne, Niroshan Dickwella, Suranga Lakmal, Nuwan Pradeep, Dushmantha Chameera, Shehan Madushanka, Akila Dananjaya, Lakshan Sandakan and Wanidu Hasaranga
Dubai works towards better air quality by 2021
Dubai is on a mission to record good air quality for 90 per cent of the year – up from 86 per cent annually today – by 2021.
The municipality plans to have seven mobile air-monitoring stations by 2020 to capture more accurate data in hourly and daily trends of pollution.
These will be on the Palm Jumeirah, Al Qusais, Muhaisnah, Rashidiyah, Al Wasl, Al Quoz and Dubai Investment Park.
“It will allow real-time responding for emergency cases,” said Khaldoon Al Daraji, first environment safety officer at the municipality.
“We’re in a good position except for the cases that are out of our hands, such as sandstorms.
“Sandstorms are our main concern because the UAE is just a receiver.
“The hotspots are Iran, Saudi Arabia and southern Iraq, but we’re working hard with the region to reduce the cycle of sandstorm generation.”
Mr Al Daraji said monitoring as it stood covered 47 per cent of Dubai.
There are 12 fixed stations in the emirate, but Dubai also receives information from monitors belonging to other entities.
“There are 25 stations in total,” Mr Al Daraji said.
“We added new technology and equipment used for the first time for the detection of heavy metals.
“A hundred parameters can be detected but we want to expand it to make sure that the data captured can allow a baseline study in some areas to ensure they are well positioned.”
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
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The finalists
Player of the Century, 2001-2020: Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus), Lionel Messi (Barcelona), Mohamed Salah (Liverpool), Ronaldinho
Coach of the Century, 2001-2020: Pep Guardiola (Manchester City), Jose Mourinho (Tottenham Hotspur), Zinedine Zidane (Real Madrid), Sir Alex Ferguson
Club of the Century, 2001-2020: Al Ahly (Egypt), Bayern Munich (Germany), Barcelona (Spain), Real Madrid (Spain)
Player of the Year: Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich)
Club of the Year: Bayern Munich, Liverpool, Real Madrid
Coach of the Year: Gian Piero Gasperini (Atalanta), Hans-Dieter Flick (Bayern Munich), Jurgen Klopp (Liverpool)
Agent of the Century, 2001-2020: Giovanni Branchini, Jorge Mendes, Mino Raiola
