Khamenei: The establishment of a Palestinian government in Tel Aviv will be realized

A few days after Mohammad Javad Zarif's remarks that the Islamic Republic has never sought the destruction of Israel, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic stated that the establishment of a Palestinian government in Tel Aviv "will be realized." This statement comes as the establishment of a Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital has always been a topic in peace negotiations and the political charters of Palestinian groups. Tel Aviv is the second-largest city in Israel, where foreign embassies are also located. According to the IRNA news agency, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Monday, January 9, during a meeting with Ziad al-Nakhala, the Secretary-General of Islamic Jihad in Palestine, that "Palestine will remain strong, and by the grace of God, the ultimate victory of the Palestinian nation will be realized in the not-so-distant future." He added, "The recent victories of the Palestinian people do not mean the ability to establish a government in Tel Aviv, but this matter will also be realized by the grace of the Lord." Khamenei considered the "main victory of the Palestinian people" to be that Israel "could not be defeated by Arab armies" but was brought to its knees by the Palestinian people and resistance groups. The Supreme Leader did not provide further explanation regarding the Palestinians' ability to "establish a government in Tel Aviv." Tel Aviv is considered by Israel to be the former capital of the country, while Israel regards Jerusalem as its eternal capital. On the other hand, Palestinians wish to declare East Jerusalem, which has been occupied by Israel since 1967, as the capital of an independent Palestinian state. Donald Trump recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel in December 2017 and effectively moved the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem in May 2018, coinciding with the 70th anniversary of Israel's independence. A few days later, the UN General Assembly condemned this decision with a majority of 128 votes against 9. About ten days before Khamenei's remarks, Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iran's foreign minister, rejected the Islamic Republic's efforts to destroy Israel, stating that "we have never sought the destruction of any country." His statement is in stark contrast to the declared policies of senior officials of the Islamic Republic. On Monday, Khamenei also stated that "the heavy pressures of the front of arrogance on the Islamic Republic of Iran will never deter us from our divine, religious, and rational duty to support Palestine." In this meeting, Ziad al-Nakhala mentioned that if a war occurs, "Tel Aviv and all cities and settlements of the Zionist regime will be within the range of thousands of resistance missiles." Hamas and Islamic Jihad in Palestine launched Fajr-5 missiles towards Israeli cities, including Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, during the summer operations of 2014. However, the firing of these missiles towards Israel had begun about two years prior. Meanwhile, Ali Saeedi, the representative of the Supreme Leader in the Revolutionary Guards, stated on December 14, 2017, that "if the Fajr-5 missiles were not in Gaza, this strip would be in a different situation today, and the enemies of resistance would have destroyed it."