Two Iranian officials said Thursday that Iran is preparing a retaliatory strike in response torecent Israeli attacks.
This is reported by The New York Times with reference to Iranian media.
"Iranʼs response to Zionist aggression is unequivocal. For 40 years, we have never left aggression unanswered. We are capable of destroying everything the Zionists have in one operation," said General Ali Fadavi, the Iranian Mehr news agency reports.
A second Iranian official, the head of Supreme Leader Gholamhossein Mohammadi Golpayeghaniʼs office, said Thursday that Iran plans to give a "severe, devastating response" to Israelʼs "desperate actions."
It remains unclear how and when Iran plans to strike back at Israel, and whether it can be persuaded not to do so. It is also possible that the remarks could be mere braggadocio to gain leverage in negotiations, or that Iran will wait for next weekʼs US election to act after that.
Iranʼs leaders may hesitate to strike Israel in return, as this could lead to further escalation, continuing a cycle of retaliation and even more devastating attacks by Israel that could weaken Iranʼs economy and infrastructure.
- On October 1, Iran fired hundreds of missiles at Israel. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said it struck "in the very heart of the occupied lands" in response to the "martyrdom" of Hamas leader Ismail Haniya, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and the IRGC commander Abbas Nilforoushan.
- On October 26, Israel struck military facilities in Iran. The operation, codenamed Days of Repentance, was a response to more than a year of attacks by Tehran and its allies. This is the first military operation on the territory of Iran, for which the Israeli authorities have officially taken responsibility.
- Israel had to postpone the attack on Iran due to the leak of the US intelligence on the preparation for it.
For more news and in-depth stories from Ukraine please follow us on X.