Good afternoon. Irans Supreme Leader has defended his Countrys Missile Attack on israel earlier this week as totally legitimate. Leading Friday Prayers in tehran for the first time in five years, Ayatollah Khamenei said it was the minimum Punishment Israel deserved. Overnight, there were more israeli Air Strikes on lebanon, including one near a Border Crossing which israel says targeted a tunnel used by hezbollah. Our diplomatic correspondent, caroline hawley, has the latest. This was designed as a show of strength from a regime deeply humiliated by a series of devastating blows to its allies, hezbollah and hamas. Supporters commemorated Hassan Nasrallah killed in an israeli Air Strike a week aGo today. Free transport was offered to those who came. And then the Supreme Leader appeared. Those who came. And then the Supreme Leaderappeared. Last those who came. And then the Supreme Leader appeared. Last friday he was reported to have Gone into hiding. Today he came out in public to delive
leopoldo lopez, in madrid, welcome to hardtalk. thank you very much. welcome to hardtalk. thank you for the opportunity. welcome to hardtalk. it s great to have you on the show. back in 2019, your big idea as a key leader of the venezuelan opposition was to undermine socialist president nicolas maduro by creating an alternative president and an alternative government. would you now acknowledge that big idea has failed? well, certainly we were not able to remove the dictatorship. and if we are measured by that standard, certainly we didn t get to the results we expected. but it s also true for any other alternative that we ve tried for over 20 years. we ve tried voting. we won the national assembly with two thirds of the vote, and the dictatorship also dismantled the possibility of the national assembly to exercise its constitutional powers. we ve tried by protesting. we ve protested with hundreds of thousands of people throughout the years, and we ve also failed to remove the
supplies are at a premium. my guest is leopoldo lopez, long time venezuelan opposition leader and former political prisoner, now in exile in spain. is it time for him to acknowledge failure? leopoldo lopez, in madrid, welcome to hardtalk. thank you very much. thank you for the opportunity. it s great to have you on the show. back in 2019, your big idea as a key leader of the venezuelan opposition was to undermine socialist president nicolas maduro by creating an alternative president and an alternative government. would you now acknowledge that big idea has failed? well, certainly we were not able to remove the dictatorship. and if we are measured by that standard, certainly we didn t get to the results we expected. but it s also true for any other alternative that we ve tried for over 20 years. we ve tried voting. we won the national assembly with two thirds of the vote, and the dictatorship also dismantled the possibility of the national assembly to exercise its constitutio