09/02/2010 Iranian Foreign Minister Manchour Mottaki declared Monday that Israel was now weaker than ever before, adding that it was a "crazy country run by crazy people." Mottaki told the Al-Jazeera news agency that Israel was in no position to embark on another military conflict, due to its internal political crisis and its losses over recent years in Lebanon and the Gaza Strip.
 
"Therefore, we must prepare for the chance that Israel will do something crazy against everyone in the region; the Syrians, the Lebanese and the Palestinians."
When asked what would happen should Israel attack Iran, Mottaki replied: "Iran's position is known by everyone. We can defend ourselves." The Iranian foreign minister added that the Islamic Republic would "stand by our Arab brothers" should Israel attack any of its neighbors.
 
Mottaki's remarks came after Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Sayyed Ali Khamenei said that Western support of Israel was ineffective, telling a top Palestinian resistance leader that its obliteration was imminent according to the will of God.
 
"Today Palestine is the symbol of life, determination, faithfulness, diligence, and dignity," Ayatollah Khamenei told Ramadan Abdullah, the secretary general of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad Movement. He praised the Palestinian resistance movement and declared that it had proven itself stronger despite the military superiority of the Israeli occupation Forces.