Iranian officials should determine how best to demonstrate Iran's power to Israel after the Israeli attack on Iran two nights ago, Iran's official IRNA news agency cited the country's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as saying on Sunday.
"The evil committed by the Zionist regime (Israel) two nights ago should neither be downplayed nor exaggerated," IRNA cited Khamenei as saying. "They should understand the strength, will, and initiative of the Iranian nation."
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei wrote in a Sunday post on X/Twitter, "The Zionist regime made a wrong move two nights ago. We must make them understand the power, determination, and initiative of the Iranian people.
"Our officials should be the ones to assess and precisely apprehend what needs to be done (to show the power of Iranian people to enemy) and do whatever is in the best interests of this country and nation," he added.
The Zionist regime made a wrong move two nights ago. We must make them understand the power, determination, and initiative of the Iranian people.
— Khamenei.ir (@khamenei_ir) October 27, 2024
Khamenei further wrote, "Zionists are making a miscalculation with respect to Iran. They don't know Iran. They still haven't been able to correctly understand the power, initiative, and determination of the Iranian people. We need to make them understand these things."
Iran on Saturday played down Israel's overnight air attack against Iranian military targets, saying it caused only limited damage, as US President Joe Biden called for a halt to an escalation that has raised fears of an all-out conflagration in the Middle East.
Other Iranian officials mirror sentiment
Tehran’s response to Israel will be inevitable, Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said in a closed session, Israeli state broadcaster KAN reported on Sunday.
Ghalibaf's comments come after the Israeli air force struck strategic military targets in Iran in response to the Islamic Republic's October 1 ballistic missile attack.
“On the basis of its inherent right to legitimate defense, stipulated in the Article 51 of the UN Charter, the Islamic Republic of Iran considers itself to be rightful and duty bound to defend against the foreign acts of aggression,” Iran's Foreign Ministry said in a statement, according to semi-official Tasnim News.