Iran’s Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said power of Iran should be demonstrated to Israel, adding that the way to do so should be “determined by the officials and that which is in the best interest of the people and the country should take place”.
In Short
- Khamenei warns against downplaying or exaggerating incident
- He says Iran’s power should be demonstrated to Israel
- Biden calls for de-escalation amid Middle East tensions
Iranian officials should determine how best to demonstrate Iran’s power to Israel after the Israeli attack on Iran two nights ago, Iran’s official IRNA news agency cited the country’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as saying on Sunday.
“The evil committed by the Zionist regime (Israel) two nights ago should neither be downplayed nor exaggerated”, IRNA cited Khamenei as saying.
Iran on Saturday played down Israel’s overnight air attack against Iranian military targets, saying it caused only limited damage, as US President Joe Biden called for a halt to escalation that has raised fears of an all-out conflagration in the Middle East.
Scores of Israeli jets completed three waves of strikes before dawn against missile factories and other sites near Tehran and in western Iran, Israel’s military said.
Khamenei said Iran’s power should be demonstrated to Israel, adding that the way to do so should be “determined by the officials and that which is in the best interest of the people and the country should take place”.
The initial Iranian missile strike was reportedly a retaliatory action against recent Israeli operations against Hezbollah forces in Lebanon.
The United States, though informed of the Israeli strikes beforehand, has publicly distanced itself from involvement.
With Iran’s influence extending to militant allies like Hezbollah, Hamas, and the Houthi rebels in Yemen, the attack has raised fears over the possibility of a region-wide conflict, escalating into an all-out war involving Israel, the US, and Iran-backed forces.
