Iran claimed it could build a nuclear weapons as its supreme leader on Saturday threatened the US and Israel with a “tooth-breaking response” to Israel’s strike on Iranian military targets.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei spoke with students ahead of the anniversary of the 1979 seizure of the US embassy in Tehran.
“The enemies, whether the Zionist regime or the United States of America, will definitely receive a tooth-breaking response to what they are doing to Iran and the Iranian nation and to the resistance front,” Khamenei, 85, said in a video released by the state media, referring to Tehran-backed terror group like Hamas and Hezbollah.
The comments came a day after a top adviser issued a warning about Iran’s nuclear capabilities. Adviser Kamal Kharrazi said Friday the country could alter its policies on using nuclear weapons if the threat seems big enough.
“If an existential threat arises, Iran will modify its nuclear doctrine, we have the capability to build weapons and have no issue in this regard,” Kharrazi told Lebanese media, Fox News reported.
A day earlier, Khamenei reportedly instructed his forces to prepare a direct attack against Israel.
The threats from Iran have grown increasingly menancing since Israel’s Oct. 26 attack on the Islamic Republic that hit multiple military bases and killed at least five, the Times of Israel reported.
The Israeli strikes were a response to Iran firing more than 200 missiles at the Jewish state on Oct. 1.
The colorful “tooth-breaking” phrase was translated by some to mean, “crushing.”
Khamenei did not elaborate on the potential timing of the attack, or its scope.
Any further attacks between Iran and Israel threaten to push the Middle East into an all-out regional conflict.
The region is already teetering on the edge of a complete crisis thanks to 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 more destroyers, fighter squadrons, tankers and B-52 long-range bombers would be going to the region to hopefully deter Iran and its allies.
Khamenei sounded more measured in his earlier comments about the conflict, saying that Israel’s Oct. 26 attack “should not be exaggerated or downplayed.”
But satellite photos showed that the Israeli attack damaged 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 incurred critical losses at the hands of Israel – may want Iran to do more to step up the regional conflict.
In an interview published shortly before Khamenei’s remarks went public, Iranian Revolutionary Guard spokesperson Gen. Mohammad Ali Naini told the Fars news agency that Iran’s response “will be wise, powerful and beyond the enemy’s comprehension.”
“The leaders of the Zionist regime should look out from the windows of their bedrooms and protect their criminal pilots within their small territory,” he warned.
Meanwhile, Iran is also grappling with domestic hardships, including a stumbling economy faltering under the weight of international sanctions and protests.
After Khamenei’s speech, the Iranian currency, the rial, fell to 691,500 against the US dollar – near an all-time low.
Separately, Israeli naval commandos on Friday captured Hezbollah official Imad Amhaz during a special forces raid on a chalet south of Tripoli, the Times of Israel reported.
Surveillance camera footage showed over 25 soldiers with the detained man in tow before eventually leaving the region in speedboats, according to video posted by Lebanese journalist Hasan Illaik.
Some Lebanese media claimed that Ahmaz was actually a Lebanese Navy officer – with photos apparently showing him in uniform, the Times of Israel said.
With Post wires