Tehran will “use all available tools” to respond to Israel’s attack, Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said on Monday, according to Reuters, after Israel’s Saturday strikes on Iran.
“(Iran) will use all available tools to deliver a definite and effective response to the Zionist regime (Israel),” Reuters quoted Baghaei as saying during a weekly televised news conference.
Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) commander Major-General Hossein Salami was quoted on Monday by Iran’s semi-official news agency Tasnim as saying that the attack would have harsh consequences for Israel.
This comes after Iran’s IRNA news agency quoted Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as saying on Sunday that Israel’s attack “should neither be downplayed nor exaggerated,” adding, “They should understand the strength, will, and initiative of the Iranian nation.”
The Islamic Republic’s leader further wrote on X/Twitter on Sunday, “The Zionist regime made a wrong move two nights ago. We must make them understand the power, determination, and initiative of the Iranian people.
“Our officials should be the ones to assess and precisely apprehend what needs to be done (to show the power of Iranian people to the enemy) and do whatever is in the best interests of this country and nation,” he added.
Khamenei noted, “Zionists are making a miscalculation with respect to Iran. They don’t know Iran. They still haven’t been able to correctly understand the power, initiative, and determination of the Iranian people. We need to make them understand these things.”
Israel’s strike on Iran
Early on Saturday, Israel launched Operation Days of Repentance, during which Israel Air Force jets attacked some 20 military sites in Iran in three waves.
The purpose of the strikes was to damage Iran’s air defenses and its ability to produce ballistic missiles in the long term.
Israel had vowed to respond to the Islamic Republic’s October 1 attack, which saw Iran launch some 180 ballistic missiles at the Jewish State.
Yonah Jeremy Bob, Yuval Barnea, and Corinne Baum contributed to this report.
