Iran's Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council and a senior advisor to the Supreme Leader, Larijani, delivered a televised speech announcing that the interim leadership committee will be established on March 1. The enemy has attempted to create division, but Iran's situation remains stable, and Iran will not allow the country to split.
He said:
"The American and Zionist regimes have deeply hurt the hearts of the Iranian people, and we will also hurt their hearts."
Larijani's remarks were made in an extremely serious political context, just after the Supreme Leader of Iran, Khamenei, was killed in an Israeli-American attack. Larijani's words are both emotional outbursts, expressions of hatred, and serious political declarations.
The so-called "deeply hurt" refers to the significant national emotional trauma caused by the Israeli-American attack on Iran. While "we will also hurt their hearts" clearly commits to equal military retaliation, emphasizing that Iran is not a country that can be dealt with by simply "firing and running away."
It is also an emotionally charged response. This is a typical rhetoric in Middle Eastern politics, using the repetition of the word "burn/inflict pain," creating a sense of "equivalence" in rhetoric and emotion, which both comforts domestic anger and conveys a strong stance to the outside world.
The political intention behind Larijani's remarks is to stabilize public sentiment. At this critical moment when the country has lost its supreme leader, demonstrating a determination for revenge aims to unite the nation, preventing it from being exploited by external forces due to fear or division.
Its strategic definition is to define the attack as the United States falling into the "Israeli trap," aiming to shift the main focus to Israel and gain sympathy from the Islamic world.
At the same time, it sets red lines by vowing retaliation, clearly warning the US and Israel not to misjudge due to Khamenei's death, trying to use deterrence to prevent further escalation of actions.
Iran is currently in an extreme risk and crisis. Larijani's speech may temporarily stabilize the morale of the military and the people. However, the coming tests will be very severe, and the situation will become even more difficult.
Original: toutiao.com/article/1858462037200908/
Statement: This article represents the views of the author.