Al-Qaeda, Iran's supreme leader praise pro-Palestine protests by U.S. students

Protests occurred earlier this spring, largely before graduation ceremonies, in response to Israel's war against Palestinian-backed Hamas in Gaza

By Nicholas Ballasy

Published: May 30, 2024 11:58am

Updated: May 30, 2024 1:12pm

The Supreme Leader of Iran's Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, and the terrorist group responsible for the September 11, 2001 attacks both praised U.S. student-led anti-Israel protests on college campuses.

“We were happy, and every Muslim was happy, with these revenge attacks and operations carried out by the youth of the Islamic nation, especially the heroes of the revenge action in the land of Canaan,” the terrorist group said in a statement.

"We call on the youth of our nation to follow this blessed path…outpace them with the number of operations and the force of strikes and to fill the hearts of the children of Zion with terror in retaliation for the blood of our oppressed people in Gaza," the statement also said.

Khamenei wrote a number of posts on X that said Iran stands with the student protestors.

"Dear university students in the United States of America, you are standing on the right side of history. You have now formed a branch of the Resistance Front and have begun an honorable struggle in the face of your government's ruthless pressure - which openly supports Zionists," Khamenei wrote.

"The support & solidarity of your professors in the face of your government's police brutality & the pressures it is exerting on you, is a consequential development. I too empathize with you young people, and value your perseverance," Khamenei also wrote.

The Iranian regime has funded terrorism and is responsible for a host of human rights abuses, according to the U.S. State Department.

A recent State Department report found that the Iranian regime is linked to "forced disappearance attributed to the government and its agents; torture or other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment by the government and its agents; arbitrary arrest or detention; harsh and life-threatening prison conditions; political prisoners and detainees; transnational repression against individuals in another country, including killings, kidnappings, or violence."