Iran warns of ‘harsh’ response to Israeli attack – media

TEHRAN – Iran on Oct. 31 warned of a “harsh and regrettable” response to Israel’s deadly Oct. 26 attack on Iranian military installations, local media reported, following a series of attacks by the two enemies.

Israeli warplanes carried out the strikes in what Israel said was retaliation for an Oct. 1 rocket attack on Tehran that Iran in turn described as retaliation for the killing of Iran-backed militant leaders and a Revolutionary Guard commander.

After the Oct. 26 attacks, Israel warned Iran against retaliating, and Tehran, saying it was not seeking war, vowed to retaliate.

“The recent actions of the Zionist regime to attack parts of our country were a desperate move, and the Islamic Republic of Iran will give a strong and regretful response to this,” said Mr. Mohammad Mohammadi Golpayegani, a senior aide to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Tasnim agency reports this.

He praised the work of Iran’s air defenses in “preventing Zionist regime fighters from entering the territory” and said the damage from the strikes was “minimal.”

Golpayegani is an influential cleric who serves as the acting head of Khamenei’s office and has the final say on all matters of state.

After the strikes, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said they “damaged Iran’s defense capabilities and missile production.”

Iran’s military said the attack killed four troops and caused “limited damage” to several radar systems. Iranian media reported that a civilian was also killed.

Also on October 31, General Hossein Salami, head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, a branch of the Iranian military, warned of an “unimaginable” response to Israel.

“Israel has reached the stage of collapse and these days it is acting blindly and committing all crimes without following any rules,” he added, according to Tasneem. AFP