Tehran will “utilize all available resources” to retaliate against Israel’s weekend strike on military sites in Iran, according to Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei on Monday.
Iran had previously downplayed the impact of Israel’s airstrike on Saturday, stating it resulted in only minor damage. Meanwhile, U.S. President Joe Biden urged for a cessation of hostilities amid escalating tensions that raise concerns about a potential large-scale conflict in the Middle East.
During a weekly televised press conference, Baghaei asserted, “Iran will employ all available tools to deliver a decisive and effective response to the Zionist regime (Israel).”
Baghaei further noted that the nature of Iran’s response will be influenced by the specifics of the Israeli attack, although he did not provide further details.
On Sunday, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei stated that Iranian officials should decide the best way to showcase Iran’s strength to Israel, emphasizing that the Israeli strike should “neither be downplayed nor exaggerated.”
According to Israel’s military, a fleet of Israeli jets conducted three waves of strikes before dawn on Saturday, targeting missile factories and other locations near Tehran and in western Iran.
The two heavily armed rivals have been locked in a cycle of retaliatory actions for months, with Saturday’s strike following an Iranian missile barrage on October 1, most of which Israel claimed was intercepted by its air defenses.
Iran supports Hezbollah, which is actively fighting Israeli forces in Lebanon, as well as the Palestinian militant group Hamas, currently engaged in conflict with Israel in the Gaza Strip.
