TEHRAN — Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Friday claimed that Israel is becoming “helpless and confused” as it maintains its military incursion in Gaza.

In a post on X, formerly Twitter, Khamenei also claimed the Israeli government was “lying” to its people when it expressed concern over hostages held by Hamas in Gaza while shelling areas where they might be held.

“Without American support,” Israel “will be silenced within days,” Khamenei said.

His remarks come days after Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi said Israel had "crossed the red lines" in Gaza, which "may force everyone to take action," amid warnings from a US national security adviser of an "elevated risk" of a spillover conflict in the Middle East.

CNN reported Thursday that the US intelligence community believes — for now — that Iran and its proxies are calibrating their response to Israel’s military intervention in Gaza to avoid direct conflict with Israel or the US while still exacting costs on its adversaries.

But the US is also keenly aware that Iran does not maintain perfect control of its umbrella of proxies — in particular over Lebanese Hezbollah, the largest and most capable of the various groups. Hezbollah is an ally of Hamas, the group that attacked Israel on October 7, and has long positioned itself as fighting against Israel. US officials are deeply concerned that the group’s internal politics may cause Hezbollah to escalate simmering tensions.

The US also does not always have perfect visibility into the communications between Iran and its various proxies, according to sources familiar with US intelligence in the region.

On Wednesday, Khamenei called on Muslim-majority countries to stop economic cooperation with Israel, including oil and food exports to the country, according to Iran’s state-aligned Tasnim news agency. — CNN