BEIRUT − Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei declared on Friday that Iran and its allies in the region are determined to stand firm after an Israeli airstrike on Beirut, which appears to have aimed at a potential successor to the slain Hezbollah leader.

In response to recent developments, Iran escalated tensions by launching missiles at Israel on Tuesday. This action was partly in retaliation for Israel’s assassination of Hezbollah’s Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, a significant figure who transformed Hezbollah into a powerful military and political force with influence throughout the Middle East.

Israel has promised retaliation, leading to a spike in oil prices amid fears of a potential assault on Iran’s oil operations.

“The resistance in the area will not be deterred even after the assassination of its leaders,” Khamenei stated during a rare Friday prayer session in Tehran, referring to Nasrallah in his address and labeling the attack on Israel as lawful and justified.

He emphasized that Iran would not “delay or rush to fulfill its responsibilities” in addressing Israeli actions, without explicitly threatening either Israel or the United States, while firmly gripping a rifle positioned to his left.

According to the semi-official Iranian news outlet SNN, Ali Fadavi, the deputy commander of the Revolutionary Guards, stated that if Israel continues its attacks, Tehran would aim for Israeli energy and gas installations.

Iran’s heightened rhetoric occurs amidst uncertainty regarding the status of Hashem Safieddine, rumored to be Nasrallah’s potential successor. Axios reported that three Israeli officials claimed Safieddine was targeted in a Beirut underground bunker, yet his condition remains unclear.

Israeli military officials chose not to comment, and Hezbollah has remained silent on Safieddine’s situation. His brother, Sayyed Abdallah Safieddine, Hezbollah’s representative in Iran, was present during Khamenei’s address in Tehran.

Destruction of Buildings and Casualties Among Health Workers

Recent Israeli bombardments have increasingly impacted medical facilities and humanitarian workers. A late Wednesday airstrike targeted a building in central Beirut linked to Hezbollah-affiliated rescuers, resulting in nine fatalities, according to Lebanon’s health ministry.

On Friday, another Israeli attack in the southern suburbs of Beirut killed one rescuer from the same unit, while a strike in the southern Lebanese town of Marjayoun impacted an area near the main hospital. Hospital director Mounes Klakesh informed Reuters that medical staff are temporarily evacuating.

Israel claims that militants conceal themselves among civilians, a point that Hezbollah denies.

In Hezbollah’s stronghold within Beirut’s southern suburbs, numerous buildings have been devastated by a week of relentless strikes. Along a primary market street called Moawad Souk, nearly all storefronts were damaged, littering the street with shattered glass.

“We’re alive, but we’re uncertain about how much longer,” stated Nouhad Chaib, a 40-year-old man already displaced from the southern region.

Israeli airstrikes targeted the district just hours before Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi met with key Lebanese officials in Beirut, including caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati and speaker of parliament Nabih Berri, a Hezbollah ally.

The highest-ranking Iranian diplomat also remarked that his presence in Beirut during these challenging times is proof of Iran’s support for Lebanon and its Shia community.

Araqchi stated that Tehran endorses efforts to establish a ceasefire in Lebanon, provided it has Hezbollah’s backing and coincides with a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

Iran’s proxies in the so-called “Axis of Resistance,” which includes Hezbollah, Yemen’s Houthis, and armed factions in Iraq, have conducted attacks across the region in solidarity with the Palestinian cause amid the Gaza conflict.

Israel has targeted and killed prominent figures from Hezbollah and Hamas, the Palestinian militant group it has been aiming to eliminate in Gaza since its attack on Israel a year ago.

Khamenei expressed that these actions are unproductive.

“Each attack by any group on Israel contributes positively to the region and to all of humanity.”

On Friday, the Israeli military announced that it had successfully targeted and killed Mohammad Rashid Sakafi, who was in charge of Hezbollah’s communication networks, through a “carefully planned, intelligence-driven operation” in Beirut the previous day. Hezbollah has not made any remarks regarding Sakafi’s death.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has pledged that Iran will face consequences for its missile attack, while U.S. President Joe Biden indicated on Thursday that Israel’s retaliation for Iran’s missile barrage, which had been intercepted by Israel’s robust defense systems, might involve targeting Iran’s oil facilities.

Biden’s statement led to a spike in global oil prices as traders ponder potential interruptions in supply.

The United States, the European Union, and other allied nations have called for an immediate 21-day ceasefire in the ongoing Israel-Lebanon hostilities. Lebanon’s leading officials have shown support for this and stated that the international community needs to act decisively to curb Israeli actions.

According to Israel, its actions in Lebanon are aimed at enabling tens of thousands of its citizens to return home after being forced to evacuate due to Hezbollah bombardments during the Gaza conflict.

Israeli attacks have displaced over 1.2 million Lebanese individuals, with Lebanese authorities reporting nearly 2,000 fatalities since the onset of Israeli operations in Lebanon over the past year, particularly within the last two weeks.

On Friday, U.N. officials noted that most of Lebanon’s approximately 900 shelters are at full capacity, leading many people fleeing from Israeli military strikes to sleep outdoors, either on streets or in public parks.

In an Israeli airstrike early Friday, a four-meter-wide crater was created near Lebanon’s main border crossing into Syria, interrupting the road for individuals attempting to flee the country.

The Israeli military claims that Hezbollah utilizes this border point to transport weapons into Lebanon. However, Lebanese officials have stated that all trucks are subject to inspections and that this crossing is essential for humanitarian aid.

As people navigated around the crater on foot on Friday, many were seen carrying suitcases and fuel containers to cross into Syria.

Following two weeks of heavy airstrikes, Israel has aimed to execute ground operations in southern Lebanon. Hezbollah claims to have defended against such operations through ambushes, rocket attacks, and direct confrontations.