Iran’s supreme leader threatens Israel and US with ‘a crushing response’ over Israeli attack

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran’s ultimate leader connected Saturday threatened Israel and nan U.S. pinch “a crushing response” complete attacks connected Iran and its allies.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said arsenic Iranian officials are progressively threatening to motorboat yet different onslaught against Israel after its Oct. 26 onslaught connected nan Islamic Republic that targeted subject bases and different locations and killed astatine slightest 5 people.

Any further attacks from either broadside could engulf nan wider Middle East, already teetering complete the Israel-Hamas warfare successful nan Gaza Strip and Israel’s crushed penetration of Lebanon, into a wider location conflict conscionable up of the U.S. statesmanlike predetermination this Tuesday.

“The enemies, whether nan Zionist authorities aliases nan United States of America, will decidedly person a crushing consequence to what they are doing to Iran and nan Iranian federation and to nan guidance front,” Khamenei said successful video released by Iranian authorities media.

The ultimate leader did not elaborate connected nan timing of nan threatened attack, nor nan scope. The U.S. subject operates connected bases passim nan Middle East, pinch immoderate troops now manning a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, aliases THAAD, artillery successful Israel.

The USS Abraham Lincoln craft bearer apt is successful nan Arabian Sea, while Pentagon property caput Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said Friday that much destroyers, combatant squadrons, tankers and B-52 long-range bombers would beryllium coming to nan region to deter Iran and its militant allies.

The 85-year-old Khamenei had struck a much cautious attack successful earlier remarks, saying officials would measurement Iran’s consequence and that Israel’s onslaught “should not beryllium exaggerated nor downplayed.” Iran has launched 2 awesome nonstop attacks connected Israel, successful April and October.

But efforts by Iran to downplay nan Israeli onslaught faltered arsenic outer photos analyzed by The Associated Press showed damage to subject bases adjacent Tehran linked to nan country’s ballistic rocket program, arsenic good arsenic astatine a Revolutionary Guard guidelines utilized successful outer launches.

Iran’s allies, called nan “Axis of Resistance” by Tehran, besides person been severely wounded by ongoing Israeli attacks, peculiarly Lebanon’s Hezbollah and Hamas successful nan Gaza Strip. Iran agelong has utilized those groups arsenic some an asymmetrical measurement to onslaught Israel and arsenic a shield against a nonstop assault. Some analysts judge those groups want Iran to do much to backmost them militarily.

Iran, however, has been dealing pinch its ain problems astatine home, arsenic its system struggles nether nan weight of world sanctions and it has faced years of widespread, aggregate protests. After Khamenei’s speech, nan Iranian rial fell to 691,500 against nan dollar, adjacent an all-time low. It had been 32,000 rials to nan dollar erstwhile Tehran reached its 2015 atomic woody pinch world powers.

Gen. Mohammad Ali Naini, a spokesperson for Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard which controls nan ballistic missiles needed to target Israel, gave an question and reply published by nan semiofficial Fars news agency conscionable earlier Khamenei’s remarks were released. In it, he warned Iran’s consequence “will beryllium wise, powerful and beyond nan enemy’s comprehension.”

“The leaders of nan Zionist authorities should look retired from nan windows of their bedrooms and protect their criminal pilots wrong their mini territory,” he warned. Israeli aerial unit pilots look to person utilized air-launched ballistic missiles successful nan Oct. 26 attack.

Khamenei connected Saturday met pinch assemblage students to people Students Day, which commemorates a Nov. 4, 1978, incident successful which Iranian soldiers opened occurrence connected students protesting nan norm of nan shah astatine Tehran University. The shooting killed and wounded respective students and further escalated nan tensions consuming Iran astatine nan clip that yet led to nan shah fleeing nan state and nan 1979 Islamic Revolution.

The crowd offered a raucous invited to Khamenei, chanting: “The humor successful our veins is simply a gift to our leader!” Some besides made a manus motion — akin to a “timeout” awesome — fixed by nan slain Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah successful 2020 successful a reside successful which he threatened that American troops who arrived successful nan Mideast opinionated up would “return successful coffins” horizontally.

Iran will people nan 45th day of nan U.S. Embassy hostage situation this Sunday, pursuing nan Persian calendar. The Nov. 4, 1979, storming of nan embassy by Islamist students led to nan 444-day crisis, which cemented nan decades-long enmity betwixt Tehran and Washington that persists today.