Shahroudi calls for solidarity of Muslims worldwide with Palestinians
Tehran, Oct 16, IRNA
Int'l Qods Day-Shahroudi
Judiciary Chief Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi said on Monday that the International Qods Day sets a charter for practical steps to be taken by the Muslims worldwide to terminate occupation of holy Qods al-Sharif.
He paid tribute to the late Imam Khomeini for designating the last Friday of the holy month of Ramadan as the International Qods Day and said that such a strategy has been the legacy of the late Imam Khomeini.
Ayatollah Shahroudi called for solidarity of the Muslims worldwide with the Palestinians suffering from the Zionist regime's systematic attacks against them killing women, children and civilians almost every day under a diversity of pretexts.
He expressed outrage at the intensified incursions of the Zionist army into the east Gaza on the eve of the International Day of Qods taking extra toll among defenseless people living in east Gaza Strip.
The Israeli regime has killed at least 250 children, women and defenseless civilians in the latest wave of revenge massacre for the kidnapping one soldier by the Palestinian defense force since June 28.
http://www.irna.ir/en/news/view/menu-234/0610160331192850.htm
http://www.debka.com/article_print.php?aid=1220
Khamenei Brandishes a Kalashnikov at US and Israel
DEBKAfile Exclusive Analysis
October 15, 2006, 4:29 PM (GMT+02:00)
(snipped)
The powerful spectacle of Iran’s be-turbaned supreme ruler Ayatollah Ali Khamenei clutching an automatic rifle, displayed exclusively by DEBKAfile, drew on the belligerent imagery of Yasser Arafat and Saddam Hussein. The Iranian media suppressed this particular shot in its coverage of his sermon at Tehran University Oct. 13, the third Friday of Ramadan. But the AK 47 toted by the ruler of the world’s foremost sponsor of terrorism was not missed by the political and military leaders in his audience and accentuated his war message.
DEBKAfile’s Tehran sources reveal that the Iran’s leaders took three fateful steps ahead of Khamenei’s performance:
1. They pointed up the tradition initiated by the father of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini of marking the last Friday of Ramadan as International al Qods Day - “Jerusalem Liberation Day.”
2. Khamenei’s aides leaked word that his decision to hold the sermon of Oct. 13 was prompted by his discovery that the USS Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group was heading for the Persian Gulf and would be deployed in operational mode opposite Iran’s shores by Oct. 21.
3. In Beirut, Iran’s surrogate Hizballah announced the cancellation of its annual military parade on al Qods day, i.e. Oct. 20.
Military circles in the United States and Israel interpret these steps as meaning that Iran will be standing by in battle positions the day before the Eisenhower reaches its destination. DEBKAfile and DEBKA-Net-Weekly’s military sources have been reporting since late August that Iran’s political and military leaders have resolved not to wait passively for an American attack but to go instead for a pre-emptive strike against US forces in the Persian Gulf and Iraq, as well as targeting Israel.
On October 7, DEBKAfile reported: Tehran and Damascus are gearing up for a pre-emptive attack on Israel to ward off a US strike on Iran’s nuclear sites – whether from Lebanon, or Golan, using Hamas to launch an offensive from Gaza, or a combination thereof. The Bush administration would then have to divide its attention and military might among three warfronts simultaneously.
DEBKAfile and DEBKA-Net-Weekly have exhaustively covered the Iranian Blow of Zolfaqar military exercise ongoing in the Persian Gulf from August and its military’s high war preparedness, as well the US naval, air and marine concentrations due to complete their deployment opposite Iran’s shores by the end of this month.
Khamenei devoted much of his sermon to the Lebanon war waged between Israel and Hizballah in July and August. “The war isn’t finished,” he said. “And the losers will certainly not remain idle. These evil forces are already hard at work to remedy their defeat and Islamic nations need to remain vigilant and ready to react with determination against any other potential attack.” . . .
The Iranian ruler laid great stress on "International Qods Day” as the day of “resistance” for the entire Islamic Umma against “the oppression and injustice observed by the Zionists and their supporters."
DEBKAfile’s Iran and Islamic sources note that the Kalashnikov in the supreme ruler’s hand spoke louder than his bellicose rhetoric.
http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1154696,00.html?promoid=rss_top
"Bush, do you know where I am?" Zawahiri taunts in his broadcast, in which he appears thin but relaxed, sitting without his customary Kalashnikov rifle in front of a curtain of black. He responds to his own question, saying, "I am among the Muslim masses." He could be speaking figuratively, meaning that while circumstances require him to lay low, he enjoys popular support. But he could well be speaking literally, in effect bragging that despite the relentless manhunt, he is able to move around in Muslim circles, "enjoying God's blessing."