Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei opined that "the arrogance [i.e. the U.S.] will be slapped in the face, once again, by the Islamic awakening in our region" "Today", Khamenei added, "some of the countries of our region follow the U.S. rather than the rule of Allah. The U.S. - acting as the arrogant power it is... humiliates them". He went on to argue that "the U.S. is clearly much weaker in our region, compared to ten years ago. The Zionist regime [i.e. Israel] is evidently weaker... their threats and animosity have been defeated so far, and will be defeated in the future; the sanctions will also be defeated thanks to the resistance".