Iran warns it will defend itself after Israeli strikes
Tehran stressed its right to retaliate against Israeli action but said it was also focused on a lasting ceasefire in Gaza and Lebanon.
Iran warned on Saturday it would defend itself after Israeli air strikes killed at least four soldiers and further stoked fears of a full-scale war in the Middle East.
Israel warned Iran would “pay a heavy price” if it responded to the strikes, and the United States, Germany and Britain demanded Tehran not escalate the conflict further.
Iran’s Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Sunday said Israel’s attack “should neither be exaggerated nor minimised”.
“The evil perpetrated by the Zionist regime (Israel) two nights ago must not be exaggerated or minimised,” he said in a post on X, describing the deadly attack as a “miscalculation”.
In his post, Khamenei said Israel “should understand the strength, will, and initiative of the Iranian nation and youth”.
US President Joe Biden earlier said he hoped “this is the end” after the predawn Israeli strikes, noting that “it looks like they didn’t hit anything other than military targets”.
Biden had urged Israel to spare nuclear and oil facilities in its retaliatory strikes, and the International Atomic Energy Agency confirmed that no nuclear sites were hit.
