Iran claims it can build nukes, threatens Israel, US with ‘teeth-shattering’ retaliation

Iran claimed it could build nuclear weapons as its supreme leader threatened the US and Israel on Saturday with a “heartbreaking response” to Israel strike on Iranian military targets.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei spoke to students ahead of the anniversary of the 1979 seizure of the US embassy in Tehran.

“The enemies, whether it is the Zionist regime or the United States of America, will certainly receive a heartbreaking response to what they are doing to Iran and the Iranian nation and the resistance front,” Khamenei, 85, said in a published video. by state media, referring to Tehran-backed terrorist groups such as Hamas and Hezbollah.

The comments came a day after a top adviser issued a warning about Iran’s nuclear capabilities. Adviser Kamal Kharrazi said on Friday that the country could change its policies on the use of nuclear weapons if the threat appears high enough.

“If there is an existential threat, Iran will change its nuclear doctrine, we have the capability to build weapons and we have no problem with that,” Kharrazi told Lebanese media. Fox News reported.

A day earlier, Khamenei said instructed his forces to prepare a direct attack against Israel.

Threats from Iran have grown increasingly menacing since Israel’s Oct. 26 attack on the Islamic Republic, which struck several military bases and killed at least five. the Times of Israel reported.

The Israeli strikes were a response to Iran’s firing over 200 rockets to the Jewish state on October 1.

The colorful phrase “tooth breaker” has been translated by some to mean “crushing.”

Khamenei did not elaborate on the potential timing of the attack or its scale.

Any further attack between Iran and Israel threatens to push the Middle East into an all-out regional conflict.

The region is already on the brink of a full-blown crisis due to the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip and Israel’s ground offensive against Hezbollah and Lebanon.

Some US troops are currently monitoring a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, or THAAD, anti-missile battery in Israel.

The USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier is also likely in the Arabian Sea, and Pentagon press secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said Friday that several destroyers, fighter squadrons, tanks and long-range bombers B- 52 will go to the region, hopefully deterring Iran and its allies.

Khamenei has sounded more measured in his previous comments on the conflict, saying Israel’s Oct. 26 attack “should not be exaggerated or downplayed.”

But satellite photos showed that the Israeli strike affected military bases near Tehran linked to Iran’s ballistic missile program, as well as a Revolutionary Guard base used in satellite launches.

Some analysts also believe that Hamas and Hezbollah — both of which have suffered critical losses at the hands of Israel — may want Iran to do more to escalate the regional conflict.

In an interview published shortly before Khamenei’s remarks were made public, Iranian Revolutionary Guards spokesman General Mohammad Ali Naini told the Fars news agency that Iran’s response “will be wise, strong and beyond the understanding of the enemy “.

“The leaders of the Zionist regime should look out their bedroom windows and protect their criminal pilots in their little territory,” he warned.

Meanwhile, Iran also faces domestic hardships, including an economy stumbling under the weight of international sanctions and protests.

After Khamenei’s speech, Iran’s currency, the rial, fell to 691,500 against the US dollar – near an all-time low.

Separately, Israeli naval commandos captured Hezbollah official Imad Amhaz on Friday during a special forces raid on a lodge south of Tripoli. The Times of Israel reported.

Surveillance footage showed more than 25 soldiers with the detained man in tow before they eventually left the region in speedboats, according to video posted by Lebanese journalist Hasan Illaik.

Some Lebanese media claimed that Ahmaz was in fact a Lebanese navy officer – with photos apparently showing him in uniform, the Times of Israel said.

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