Iran’s missile attacks on Israel were “correct, logical and lawful,” Ayatollah Ali Khamenei told a large crowd that gathered in Tehran on Friday to hear him speak.

The country’s supreme leader described the attack as the “minimum punishment” for what he called Israel’s “astonishing crimes” as he led Friday prayers in the capital, something he has not done since 2020.

Khamenei’s speech came three days after Iran fired nearly 200 rockets into Israel in retaliation for the killing of Hezbollah’s leader Hassan Nasrallah.

The Farsi-speaking supreme leader delivered part of his speech in Arabic to address Palestinian and Lebanese supporters.

During his sermon, Khamenei praised Nasrallah and expressed support for Hamas and Hezbollah, which he said provided “crucial services to the entire region and the entire Islamic world.”

He said armed groups linked to Iran “will not back down” in their conflict with Israel, which entered a new phase after Hamas launched deadly attacks on Israel nearly a year ago.

Iran is the main supporter of Hezbollah and Hamas, as well as other armed groups in the Middle East that have attacked Israel. They often call themselves the “Axis of the Resistance”.

In recent weeks, several senior leaders of Iranian-backed groups and Iran’s powerful military wing, the Revolutionary Guards, have been killed in Israeli attacks or suspected Israeli assassinations.

The Supreme Leader’s appearance before a crowd of tens of thousands of people in Tehran is a sign of the gravity of the moment for the Iranian regime, which is facing widespread domestic discontent.

It could be read as an attempt to show strength and restore Iran’s credibility as leader of the “Axis of Resistance.”

The public appearance was also intended to show that Khamenei is not in hiding, after reports emerged that he was taken to a safe location after Nasrallah’s assassination.

The Grand Mosalla Mosque was flooded with people after Iranians were given free transportation to attend the sermon. A large Palestinian flag could be seen in the crowd.

Khamenei has ultimate power in Iran, but rarely leads Friday prayers himself.

The last time he did so was in 2020, after the US assassinated Iran’s top military commander, Qassem Soleimani. The time before that was in 2012.

Iran is still reeling from the loss of its allies Nasrallah and Hamas’ political leader Ismail Haniyeh, who was assassinated in Tehran in July.

Israel is widely believed to be behind Haniyeh’s killing, although it has never commented on his death.

Khamenei also told the crowd that Iran would retaliate if Israel launched a response to Tuesday’s rocket attack as expected.

“If we had to do that again, we would do it again in the future,” Khamenei told supporters.

US President Joe Biden proposed this on Thursday a possible Israeli attack on Iranian oil infrastructure had been discussed as Israel continued to consider how to strike back against Tehran.