Iran’s Supreme Leader Threatens US, Israel With ‘Crushing Response’

Iran’s supreme leader has threatened to apply a “crushing response” to the US and Israel attacks on Iran and its allies.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei issued the warning on Saturday as Iranian officials increasingly threatening to launch another strike against Israel after its attack on the Islamic Republic last week, which targeted military bases and killed at least five people.

“The enemies, whether it is the Zionist regime or the United States of America, will definitely receive a crushing response to what they are doing to Iran and the Iranian nation and the resistance front,” Khamenei, 85, said. according to The Associated Press. He did not elaborate on the timing of the threatened attack or its scope.

Khamenei had previously taken a more cautious approach, saying officials would weigh Iran’s response and that Israel’s attack “should not be exaggerated or downplayed.” Iran launched two major direct attacks on Israel in April and October.

General Mohammad Ali Naini, a spokesman for Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, which controls the ballistic missiles needed to target Israel, also warned that Iran’s response would be “wise, strong and beyond the understanding of the enemy”.

“The leaders of the Zionist regime should look out of their bedroom windows and protect their criminal pilots in their small territory,” he warned in an interview with the semi-official Fars news agency.

It comes after the US revealed on Friday that it would deploy additional military resources to the Middle East in the coming months. Major General Pat Ryder, the Pentagon press secretary, said additional destroyers, fighter squadrons, tanks and B-52 long-range bombers would be sent to the Middle East to deter Iran and its allies from further attacks.

“Secretary Austin continues to state that if Iran, its partners, or its proxies use this moment to target American personnel or interests in the region, the United States will take all necessary steps to defend its people,” General Ryder said.

The US Army operates from bases throughout the Middle East, with some troops now manning a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, or THAAD, battery in Israel.

Newsweek reached out to the Pentagon for comment outside of normal business hours on the Iranian threats.

Meanwhile, Lebanon’s Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah said on Saturday that it had used rockets and explosive drones to target military and intelligence installations in northern and central Israel.

It claimed responsibility for firing rockets at the Israeli army’s Unit 8200 base in Glilot, on the outskirts of Tel Aviv, and for firing rockets at military units in Zvulun.

Hezbollah also said it targeted the Palmachim Air Base in central Israel with explosive drones, saying they “recorded accurate hits on the targets.”

The Magen David Adom emergency service said 11 people were injured by shrapnel and broken glass in a strike on a building in Tira, a city in central Israel. Three were in moderate condition, while the others suffered minor injuries.

The Israeli military did not confirm whether any of the three Hezbollah targets were hit and said it had no comment on the group’s claims.

An Israeli airstrike on a southern suburb of Beirut on Saturday also injured 11 people, the Lebanese Health Ministry said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.