‘Israel Will Be Eliminated’ Iran’s Khamenei Downplays Impact of Assad’s Ouster

Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, stated on December 17 that the removal of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad does not signify that ‘the resistance’ in the region will cease.Khamenei told the crowd, who were chanting “death to Israel,” that “Israel will be eradicated,” not Hezbollah forces.Meanwhile, during his weekly press conference, Iran’s Foreign Ministry Spokesperson, Ismail Baghaee, mentioned that there has been no communication from the new U.S. administration regarding the next steps.The comments come as the Iranian President, Masoud Pezeshkian, prepares for a rare visit to Egypt to attend the D-8 summit and discuss regional and bilateral affairs.Relations between Egypt and Iran have generally been fraught in recent decades but the two countries have stepped up high-level diplomatic contacts since the eruption of the Gaza crisis last year as Egypt tried to play a mediating role. n18oc_world n18oc_crux