In relation to Israel’s attack on Iran’s military installations over the weekend, Esmaeil Baghaei, the spokesperson for Iran’s foreign ministry, announced on Monday that Tehran is prepared to employ every feasible method in its response. Despite Iran initially downplaying the impact of Israel’s aerial onslaught on Saturday, insisting it resulted in only minor destruction, US President Joe Biden has urged for an end to the intensifying situation that’s fuelling concerns of a comprehensive conflict in the Middle East.
During a regular televised news briefing, Baghaei asserted that Iran’s course of action will mirror the nature of the Israeli aggression and pledged a firm and effectual vengeance against Israel, often referred to as the Zionist regime. Details about the specifics of this response were not given.
According to regional news reports, the head of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps cautioned Israel to be ready for “severe repercussions” following its early Saturday assault on Iranian military bases. These Israeli strikes were reciprocations for the October 1st assault by Iran which involved the launch of approximately 200 missiles at Israel. The majority of these were intercepted by the country’s aero-defensive systems.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader, advised on Sunday that Iranian officials should decide the most appropriate method of expressing the country’s strength to Israel. He emphasised that Israel’s attack should neither be minimised nor overstated. Israel’s military declared that Israeli jets conducted three separate air raids on missile plants and other locations near Tehran and in western Iran before daybreak on Saturday. Four Iranian soldiers were killed in the attacks, according to the Iranian army.
These heavily armed adversaries have been locked in an escalating tit-for-tat conflict for several months. Iran supports Hizbullah, which is currently heavily engaged in combat with Israeli troops in Lebanon, and moreover backs the Palestinian extremist organisation, Hamas, which is also fighting Israel in the Gaza Strip. Local healthcare officials reported that around 70 people had been killed in Israeli aerial bombings in the previous day.
In the northern Gaza region, reports have become patchy and verification is increasingly difficult as Israel’s renewed terrestrial and aerial incursions, targeting areas like Jabaliya, Beit Lahiya, and Beit Hanoun, enters its fourth week.