Iran’s supreme leader on Saturday threatened Israel and the United States with an “overwhelming response” over attacks on Iran and its allies.
Khamenei comes as Iranian authorities step up threats to carry out further attacks against Israel following attacks on the Islamic Republic on October 26 that targeted military bases and other locations and killed at least five people. said.
Further attacks from either side could engulf the wider Middle East, already reeling over the Israeli-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip and Israel’s ground invasion of Lebanon, into a broader regional conflict ahead of this Tuesday’s U.S. presidential election. There is.
“The enemy, whether it is the Zionist regime or the United States, will definitely receive overwhelming retaliation for what it is doing to Iran, the Iranian state, and the resistance front,” Khamenei said in a video published by Iranian state media. Deaf,” he said.
Related article | Satellite images show damage from Israeli attack on two secret Iranian military bases
The supreme leader did not elaborate on the timing or scope of the attack. The U.S. military operates from bases across the Middle East, with some troops currently stationed at Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) batteries in Israel.
The aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln is likely in the Arabian Sea, and Pentagon spokesman Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said Friday that more destroyers, fighter squadrons, tankers and B-52 long-range bombers are on the way to deter Iran. He said the aircraft would be coming to the area. and its militant allies.
Khamenei, 85, had taken a more cautious stance in previous statements, saying authorities would consider Iran’s response and that Israeli attacks “should not be exaggerated or downplayed.” . Iran launched two major direct attacks against Israel in April and October.
However, satellite images analyzed by the Associated Press revealed damage to a military base near Tehran linked to the country’s ballistic missile program and an Revolutionary Guards base used for satellite launches, leading to concerns about an Israeli attack. Iran’s efforts to downplay it have failed.
Iran’s allies, which the Iranian government calls the “axis of resistance,” have also been severely damaged by continued Israeli attacks, particularly Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Iran has long used these groups as an asymmetrical way to attack Israel and as a shield against direct attack. Some analysts believe these groups want Iran to provide more military support.
But Iran has been dealing with its own problems at home, with its economy struggling under the weight of international sanctions and facing multiple widespread protests over the years. After Khamenei’s speech, the Iranian rial fell to 691,500 rials against the dollar, near an all-time low. When the Iranian government reached a nuclear deal with world powers in 2015, the dollar was worth 32,000 rials.
General Mohammad Ali Naini, a spokesman for Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard Corps, which controls the ballistic missiles needed to target Israel, said the semi-official Fars news agency published the statement shortly before Khamenei’s remarks were published. He responded to the interview. In it, he warned that Iran’s response “will be wise, strong and beyond the comprehension of our adversaries.”
“The leaders of the Zionist regime should look out their bedroom windows and protect criminal pilots within their small territories,” he warned. Israeli Air Force pilots are believed to have used air-launched ballistic missiles in the October 26 attack.
Khamenei met with university students on Saturday to commemorate Students’ Day, which commemorates the Nov. 4, 1978, incident in which Iranian soldiers opened fire on students protesting against the Shah’s rule at Tehran University. The shooting left several students dead and injured, further escalating the tensions gripping Iran at the time, and ultimately led to the Shah’s flight from the country and the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
The crowd gave Khamenei a huge welcome, shouting: “The blood that flows in our veins is a gift to our leader!” Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed in 2020, gave a speech when he threatened that U.S. troops arriving in the Middle East would “go back to level in coffins” when he signaled a “time out”. Some people made similar hand gestures.
Iran will mark the 45th anniversary of the U.S. Embassy hostage crisis this Sunday, according to the Persian calendar. The attack on the embassy by Islamist students on November 4, 1979 sparked a 444-day crisis that further intensified decades of hostility between Tehran and Washington, which continues today.
