Ayatollah: Palestinians to Form Govt in Tel Aviv

Leader of Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei pledged on Monday that Iran will continue to support the Palestinian people despite the "tremendous" pressure being exerted by the United States. 

"These pressures will not dissuade us from fulfilling our divine, religious and natural duty to support Palestine," he said in a meeting with Ziad al-Nakhala, the secretary-general of Palestinian Islamic Jihad resistance movement, and his accompanying delegation in Tehran, the Leader's website reported. 

Washington has unleashed its "toughest ever" sanctions against Tehran since US President Donald Trump pulled his country out of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal in May, with the aim of compelling the Islamic Republic to change its regional policies and halt its nuclear and ballistic missile programs. 

Ayatollah Khamenei hailed the resistance put up by the Palestinians against the Zionist regime, saying that they will emerge victorious from the decades-long confrontation if they keep fighting for their cause. 

"Resistance and perseverance have been the reason behind the continuous victories of the Palestinian nation in recent years. The power of Zionist regime will continue to decline as long as the resistance movement continues," he said. 

Palestine will remain strong and emerge as the ultimate winner, the Leader told the Palestinian officials.

Deal of Century 

Al-Nakhala briefed Ayatollah Khamenei on the latest developments in the occupied territories and said the Palestinian people are determined to defend their territories, values and principles. 

"Despite all the pressure, people in Gaza have stood against the Zionist regime and the so-called 'deal of the century'," he said. 

The US president had said he is working on an initiative billed as the "deal of the century" to bring peace to Israel and Palestine, though few details have been released.

In December 2017, Trump made it clear that his peace deal will favor Israel when he recognized Beit-ul-Moqaddas as Israel's capital, which sparked a wave of global condemnation and protests. 

The US move led Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to brand Trump's peace efforts as "the slap of the century" and say the US could no longer play any role in the Middle East peace process.

Iran says the proposed plan is destined to fail and condemned the unconditional US support for Israel. 

The secretary-general of Palestinian Islamic Jihad resistance movement stated that resistance forces are fully prepared to respond to any Israeli aggression. 

"Today, the Islamic resistance movement is more capable and stronger than ever, and if a war breaks out, Tel Aviv and all towns and settlements of the Zionist regime will be within the range of resistance forces' missiles," Al-Nakhala said. 

In a separate meeting with the Palestinian official on Sunday, Iran's top security official censured some Arab countries for their overt and covert support for Trump's "deal of the century" plot against the Palestinians, saying resistance groups and vigilant nations in the region will prevent the implementation of such an "ominous" plan.

"The implementation of this plan will be a heavy blow to Palestine," Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council Ali Shamkhani said.