In a November 24, 2023 Friday sermon in Arak, Iran, which was aired on Aftab TV (Iran), Khamenei's Representative Gholamali Dorri-Najafabadi chided "friends" who proclaim: "No to Gaza and Lebanon, I will give my life for Iran." He said that giving one's life for Gaza or Lebanon means giving one's life for Iran. Dorri-Najafabadi explained that Iran's "strategic depth" is in Gaza, Lebanon, Yemen, Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, the Indian Ocean, and the Sea of Oman.
Gholamali Dorri-Najafabadi: "Some of our friends used to say: 'No to Gaza and Lebanon, I will give my life for Iran.' They think that giving our lives for Gaza and Lebanon does not mean giving our lives for Iran. What, are we all alone? Iran's strategic depth is in Gaza, Lebanon, Yemen, Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, the Indian Ocean, the Sea of Oman... All of that.
"Can we just close our eyes today, bury our heads in some hole in the ground, and pretend that nothing is happening anywhere? One of the glowing highlights of Imam [Khomeini's] statements in the latter years of his honorable life was: 'Strive to create kernels of resistance throughout the world.' Today, we are witnessing those kernels of resistance."