Tehran | WTNS |April 10: Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei says the Israeli regime “must be punished and will be punished” for its deadly strike on the Iranian consulate in the Syrian capital of Damascus.

Ayatollah Khamenei made the remarks during a speech at Imam Khomeini’s Grand Mosalla in the Iranian capital of Tehran on Wednesday after leading the Eid al-Fitr prayers, which marks the end of the holy fasting month of Ramadan.

The Leader pointed to the Israeli missile attack on the consular section of the Iranian Embassy in the Syrian capital of Damascus on April 1.

Ayatollah Khamenei said, “The evil Zionist regime committed another mistake …  and that was the attack on the Iranian consulate in Syria. The consulate and diplomatic missions in any country are considered to be the territory of that country. When they attack our consulate, it means they have attacked our soil.”

“The evil regime made a mistake and must be punished and will be punished,” the Leader stressed.

The Israeli attack killed two senior Iranian military personnel who were on an advisory mission to Syria as well as five of their accompanying officers.

Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps said Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Zahedi, a commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Quds Force, and his deputy General Mohammad Hadi Haji Rahimi were among the seven martyrs of the terrorist attack.

‘Evil nature of Western civilization’

Ayatollah Khamenei condemned the Israel regime’s months-long war against Palestinians in the besieged Gaza Strip and said it shows the evil and wicked nature of the Western civilization.

“In this year’s events, Western governments exposed the evil nature of Western civilizations. During the last six months in Gaza, the Western governments, themselves, put on display this evil nature before the eyes of the world,” the Leader said.

“They killed children in their mothers’ arms and patients in hospitals. Their strength does not match that of the resistance fighters, so they claim the lives of old men, families, children and women, and killed more than thirty thousand innocent people.”

The Leader added, “Where are those whose cacophonous voice on human rights deafen the ears of the world? Are these not human beings? Don’t they have any rights?”

Ayatollah Khamenei underlined that the Western governments have for years invariably helped and supported Israel, and also backed the regime in international circles and provided it with all kinds of aid.

“They should have prevented the crimes of the regime in this disaster. But the Western governments did not fulfill their duty. Some spoke in support of the people [in Gaza], but in practice they not only failed to prevent but also contributed to [the war], especially the arrogant and cruel governments of the US and UK,” the Leader noted.

The Israeli regime launched its devastating war on the Gaza Strip after Palestinian resistance movements launched Operation al-Aqsa Storm against the usurping regime on October 7.

The regime has so far killed more than 33,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children.

Tel Aviv has also blocked water, food, and electricity to Gaza, plunging the coastal strip into a humanitarian crisis.

‘Gaza tops Muslim world’s issues’

Later in the day, the Leader received a group of Iranian authorities, ambassadors of Muslim countries, and people of various social strata.

Ayatollah Khamenei hailed pro-Palestine rallies in Iran and across the world on Quds Day, the last Friday of Ramadan, as an “extraordinary, political and international move.”

The Leader stressed that Gaza is at the top of the issues of the Islamic world and everyone must feel responsible.

“The hearts of nations go out to Gaza, even the non-Muslims. You see these rallies and demonstrations that are staged across the world in favor of the Palestinians and the people of Gaza; these marches are unprecedented. We have not seen anything like this,” Ayatollah Khamenei said.

Pointing to the mass rallies in the US, Europe and Africa in support of Palestinians on Quds Day, the Leader noted that, “It seems something new is being done, a new development is taking place in the Muslim world.”

Denouncing as “regrettable” the support provided by certain Muslim countries to the Israeli regime in its months-long war on Gaza, the Leader said, “This is a betrayal of the Islamic Ummah. It is also a self-betrayal, because they are strengthening the waning Zionist institutions and this empowerment will be to their own detriment.”

Ayatollah Khamenei also called on the Muslim community to sever relations with the Israeli regime as there is no end in sight regarding the occupying entity’s barbaric war on Gaza.

Islamic governments should cut off their economic ties and political relations with the Zionist regime, the Leader said, describing it as the “definite proposal” of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

But for now, “the least we can expect from Muslim countries is that they temporarily cut ties with the Zionist regime and do not help it as long as it continues its crimes” against Palestinians, the Leader said.