Iran threatens 'crushing response' amid regional tensions
Iran's highest political and spiritual leader, Ali Khamenei, threatened Israel and the USA with a "crushing response" for the attacks by the Israeli army and its allies, as reported by the AP on Saturday. He did not specify the timing or scope of the response.
"The enemies, whether the Zionist regime or the United States, will certainly receive a crushing response for what they are doing to Iran and the Iranian nation and the resistance front," Khamenei said in a video released by Iranian state media.
As noted by the AP, Khamenei announced potential retaliation at a time when Iranian officials have been increasingly threatening to carry out another strike on Israel, following an attack on October 26. This attack targeted, among others, Iranian military bases, resulting in the deaths of at least five people.
Iran will respond to Israel's recent retaliatory attacks
According to a report by the Washington-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW), relying on Western media, Iran plans to respond to recent Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) attacks by launching one-way strike drones and ballistic missiles. The "New York Times" reported that Khamenei ordered Iran's Supreme National Security Council on October 29 to plan a retaliatory attack on Israel.
ISW notes that in recent months, Iran has used Shahed drones with a range of about 370 to 1,550 miles, as well as Iranian KAS-04 and Al Arfad drones, and Arqab cruise missiles with a range of over 995 miles, in attacks on Israel. Since 2018, Iran has also possessed short-range ballistic missiles, including Zelzal, Fateh-110, and Zolfaghar. These have not been used in attacks on Israel since the conflict began on October 7, 2023.
ISW also reported that the Islamic Resistance Movement in Iraq claimed responsibility for nine drone attacks on Thursday and Friday, targeting unspecified locations in Israel. A source close to Shia militants recently warned that the group plans to double the number of attacks against Israel in November.
AP reported that Ayatollah Khamenei met with students on Saturday to commemorate the November 4, 1978, attack by Iranian soldiers on protesting students from the University of Tehran who opposed the rule of Iran’s Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. Several students were killed and wounded during the shooting, escalating tensions in Iran, which eventually led to the Shah fleeing the country and the Islamic revolution in 1979.
On Sunday, Iran will mark the 45th anniversary of the so-called hostage crisis at the US Embassy. The assault on the diplomatic facility and the hostage-taking by Islamic students on November 4, 1979, led to a 444-day crisis between Iran and the USA.
