Iran International
As Washington says a deal with Tehran is drawing closer, Iran’s supreme leader on Tuesday echoed his slain father’s call for Israel’s destruction while Hezbollah intensified drone attacks on northern Israel, raising questions over the timing.
In a fiery Hajj message, Mojtaba Khamenei described Israel as a “cancerous tumor” nearing the “final stages” of its existence, praised the October 7 attacks and repeated his father’s prediction that Israel would not survive beyond 2040.
The statement came as Hezbollah sharply increased attacks on Israel’s northern border, including explosive drone strikes near civilian communities, and as the Trump administration signaled progress toward a possible deal with Tehran.
The parallel escalation has raised questions over whether Tehran may be trying to strengthen its hand in talks with Washington, using Hezbollah as leverage while publicly hardening its posture toward Israel.
On X, Iran analyst Arash Azizi described Mojtaba Khamenei’s statement as “remarkable for how extremely eliminationist it is toward Israel, even by the regime’s standards.”
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar responded to Mojtaba Khamenei's remarks by invoking the fate of his slain father and pointing to the new supreme leader’s absence from public view since the February 28 attack, which killed several members of his family and left him injured.
“Sounds familiar. I remember someone with a similar surname who used to say it. BTW, where are you?” Sa’ar wrote.
Hezbollah as leverage against US
Reuters reported Tuesday that Israeli troops had expanded ground operations beyond a demarcation line established after the April ceasefire, while Hezbollah claimed attacks on Israeli forces using explosive drones, rockets and artillery.
For Sarit Zehavi, founder of the Alma Research and Education Center, the timing of Hezbollah’s escalation is no coincidence.
“There is no doubt they are doing that under the order of Tehran,” Zehavi told Iran International.
“They intensify the attacks while there is a lot of pressure on Iran to get a deal and the gaps between the Americans and the Iranians are really big,” she said.
Zehavi argued that Iran is using Hezbollah as leverage against Washington, either to pressure the United States into concessions or to prolong negotiations while the Islamic Republic rebuilds.
“They are using Hezbollah as a leverage of pressure on the Americans."
The escalation is already having deadly consequences inside Israel. Zehavi’s cousin’s son, Staff Sgt. Noam Hamburger, 23, was killed last week by a Hezbollah drone strike near the northern border, weeks before he was due to complete his military service.
“In the process people are being killed,” Zehavi said.
Zehavi said Hezbollah’s escalation may also be intended to provoke a wider Israeli response in Lebanon, allowing Tehran to blame Israel if the diplomatic track collapses.
“They are dragging Israel to attack in Beirut at this specific time,” she said, “and that way blame Israel for any dead-end in the negotiations.”
