Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has issued a new fierce warning to the United States and Israel at a moment there continues to be speculation that Iran could hit back for the last early Saturday morning attack by Israel which involved over 100 IAF jets attacking Iranian military sites.
He addressed an audience of students connected with the anniversary of the 1979 takeover of the US embassy in Tehran by Islamic revolutionary students. "The enemies, whether 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 to the resistance front," the 85 year old Shia cleric said.
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| Reuters/AFP |
It's unclear if this means Iran is preparing a response. He previously said that Iranian leaders would weigh a potential response and that the last weekend attack "should not be exaggerated nor downplayed."
The crowed of supporters hailed Khamenei and his message with cheers, chanting, "The blood in our veins is a gift to our leader!"
Two days prior to Khamenei's Saturday speech, Axios reported that Iran is still preparing a major retaliation. Israel's strikes on missile and military facilities was itself a much anticipated response to the Oct.1st ballistic missile attack.
While most regional observers believe the tit-for-tat has cooled down, reflected in declining oil prices this week, the Axios report cited a pair of Israeli officials to say "Israeli intelligence suggests Iran is preparing to attack Israel from Iraqi territory in the coming days, possibly before the US presidential election."
This would involve large numbers of drones and ballistic missiles, they say. Throughout the Gaza war, there have been sporadic drones launched by Iran-backed paramilitary units in Iraq, but nothing on a major scale.
Israeli sources on Thursday have suggested that Iran is actually moving ballistic missiles to prepare for such an attack.
Also, Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) commander Hossein Salami has been cited as saying that Iran's response will be "different from any scenario" Israel might expect.
But Netanyahu is now strongly counter-signaling yet more escalation:
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu signaled on Thursday that Iran’s nuclear program could be Jerusalem’s next line of attack as Tehran promises to return fire following last week's air strikes.
"The supreme objective that I have set for the IDF and the security services is to prevent Iran from attaining nuclear weapons," Netanyahu said while speaking at a course graduation ceremony for soldiers in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). "Halting the nuclear program has been – and remains – our chief concern.
"I have not taken, we have not taken, and we will not take, our eyes off this objective," Netanyahu added.
For now, nothing is likely to happen except for the continued build-up of verbal threats and counter-threats, and both sides are unlikely to make major moves - at least until after US election Tuesday.