Iran's Khamenei says Israel is a "cancerous tumor" in Middle East

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei called on Palestinians on Friday to continue their uprising against Israel, suggesting the Israeli government was a "tumor" that should be confronted until Palestinians were liberated. "The uprising by Palestinians should continue ... fight to liberate Palestine is an obligation and an Islamic jihad ... The Zionist regime (Israel) is a cancerous tumor in the region." Iran's top authority Khamenei said in an online speech.

"The long-lasting virus of Zionists will be eliminated." Khamenei and other senior Iranian officials have called repeatedly over the years for an end to the Jewish state, including through a referendum in the region, where Palestinians are in the majority.

Khamenei reiterated the call in his speech on Quds Day, held on the last Friday of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan and which was declared by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, founder of Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution. (Writing by Parisa Hafezi; Editing by Catherine Evans)

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