Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei prays near the coffins of Iranian Major-General Qassem Soleimani, head of the elite Quds Force, and Iraqi militia commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, who were killed in an air strike at Baghdad airport, in Tehran, Iran January 6, 2020. Official Khamenei website/Handout via REUTERS
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said in a Friday sermon that Iran’s missile strikes on U.S. targets in Iraq this month delivered a “slap on the face” to the United States, showing the Islamic Republic had divine support. During a spike in tension, Iran launched missiles at U.S. targets on Jan. 8 in response to a U.S. drone strike on Jan. 3 that killed Qassem Soleimeni, a powerful Iranian general who was close to Khamenei.
“The fact that Iran has the power to give such a slap to a world power shows the hand of God,” Khamenei said, after referring to the launch of missiles against U.S. targets as a “day of God”. His comments were met by chants of “Death to America!”.
Source: Reuters