Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei has stated that Tehran will “use all available tools” to respond to Israel’s recent military strikes on Iranian targets.
Although Iran initially downplayed the impact of Israel’s air attack on Saturday, describing the damage as minimal, U.S. President Joe Biden has called for an end to the escalating tensions that threaten to ignite a broader conflict in the Middle East.
During a weekly televised press conference, Baghaei emphasized that Iran’s response will be determined by the specifics of the Israeli attack, although he did not provide further details.
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei remarked on Sunday that Iranian officials should decide how to effectively showcase Iran’s strength to Israel, advising that the Israeli strike should neither be underestimated nor overstated.
The Israeli military reported that dozens of its jets conducted three waves of airstrikes early Saturday against missile production facilities and other locations near Tehran and in western Iran. For months, the two nations have been locked in a cycle of retaliatory actions, with the latest strike occurring after an Iranian missile attack on October 1, most of which Israel claimed to have intercepted.
Iran supports Hezbollah, which is currently engaged in intense conflict with Israeli forces in Lebanon, as well as Hamas, which is fighting against Israel in the Gaza Strip.