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In his first response to the Israeli attack on Iran’s military installations, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei refrained from an outright call for retaliation and delegated the decision to “authorities”.
Khamenei emphasized that Iran must make Israel understand “the power, determination, and innovation of the Iranian nation and its youth” while declaring that the decision on “how best to convey Iran's might and resolve to the Zionist regime” must be taken by the authorities in a manner that the best interests of the nation and the country are secured.
This may suggest that he has delegated the decision to the Supreme National Security Council, where many members are his appointees. It could also reflect Khamenei’s tendency to appear distanced from certain controversial policies that might carry political risks for him.
President Masoud Pezeshkian on Saturday said in an X post that the Iranian nation would “stand fearlessly in defense of its soil and respond to any act of folly with prudence and intelligence” after the confirmation that several military installations in Tehran, Khuzestan, and Ilam provinces had come under Israeli attack in three separate waves overnight.
The Joint Staff of the Armed Forces in a statement Saturday claimed the military had intercepted a large number of Israeli missiles and succeeded in preventing Israeli aircraft from entering Iran's airspace but did not make any threat of immediate retaliation.
Speaker Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf, however, on Sunday said at a session of the Parliament that the Islamic Republic’s response to Israel's attack would be “definite and calculated,” while demanding that the United States compel Israel to accept a sustainable ceasefire in Gaza and Lebanon and prevent the conflict from spreading in West Asia.
Iran has been demanding a ceasefire, as its proxies, the Lebanese Hezbollah and Hamas face continued military pressure by Israel, losing leaders and cadres to constant attacks.
Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Sunday also accused the United States of complicity in Israel’s Saturday attack by providing an air corridor to Israel in Iraq. US officials say Washington had no direct involvement in it.
Authorities have reported that four personnel from the regular army (Artesh) were killed and several others wounded in the attacks but have downplayed the extent of infrastructural damage caused by the Israeli strikes. Independent reports in Western media, however, indicate extensive Israeli targeting of air defense systems and missile production facilities.
Iran's Supreme Leader on Sunday also warned that the Israeli strikes must neither be exaggerated nor underestimated but insisted that Israel must be stopped from making “wrong calculations”.
The remarks were made in a speech to the families of “martyrs of security” at the meeting hall of his residence compound in central Tehran.
In his speeches after Israel’s attack on the Iranian embassy compound in Damascus in April and the targeted killing of the Hamas Leader Esmail Haniyeh in Tehran in July Khamenei vowed tough punishment of Israel.
His tone Sunday, however, was much more cautious and evasive regarding responding to Israel’s “Days of Reckoning” operation. Israeli warplanes reportedly penetrated Iranian airspace and operated freely, a fact that has probably not escaped Khamenei's attention.
Ultra-hardliners including lawmaker Hamid Rasaei have been demanding a quick and strong response to Israel and have already dubbed their proposed attack as “Operation True Promise 3”. The state broadcaster IRIB has also aired extreme demands for retaliation in its programs and interviews since the attack.
Iran's reform front in a statement Saturday condemned the Israeli attack. Still, it urged authorities to take an initiative to “prevent all-encompassing war from a position of dignity, wisdom, and expediency” and to support “ceasefire in Gaza and Lebanon and formation of an independent Palestinian state”.
Israel hit hard Iran's ability to defend itself and to produce missiles when its air force struck two nights ago, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday.
"The air force attacked throughout Iran. We hit hard Iran's defence capabilities and its ability to produce missiles that are aimed at us," Netanyahu said in a speech.
"The attack in Iran was precise and powerful, and it achieved all its objectives," he said.
He emphasized that Israel’s war is not against the Iranian people, but with the Islamic Republic.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Sunday that the US involvement in Israel's operation is completely clear for Tehran, adding that the US provided a designated flight path for Israeli fighter jets.
“The least the US did was granting an air corridor to Israel’s air force,” he said.
Speaking about Iran’s diplomatic measures, he said, "Last night, I submitted a letter to the UN Secretary-General, officially recording this incursion on Iranian soil and requesting an urgent Security Council session.”
During Sunday’s parliament session, Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf praised the effectiveness of Iran’s military defenses, saying that Israel’s recent actions only highlight its vulnerability.
He added that, under Article 51 of the UN Charter, Iran reserves the right to respond as part of its legitimate right to self-defense. Any retaliation will be decisive and calculated, he went on to say.
“Nothing in the present Charter shall impair the inherent right of individual or collective self-defense if an armed attack occurs against a Member of the United Nations, until the Security Council has taken measures necessary to maintain international peace and security. Measures taken by Members in the exercise of this right of self-defense shall be immediately reported to the Security Council and shall not in any way affect the authority and responsibility of the Security Council under the present Charter to take at any time such action as it deems necessary in order to maintain or restore international peace and security,” reads Article 51.
Hossein Shariatmadari, the editor of the flagship hardliner newspaper -- which is funded by the Supreme Leader, urged a swift response to Israel’s recent attack, dismissing suggestions to refrain from retaliation.
In an editorial, he argued that hesitating to respond would only encourage further aggression from the US and Israel, describing such restraint as an open invitation to future attacks against Iran.
In his first response to Saturday’s Israeli attack on Iran’s military installations, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei struck a cautious tone, refraining from an outright call for retaliation.
