Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei says 'crushing response' awaits US, Israel

TEHRAN: Iran's Supreme leader escalated his rhetoric, warning of a "crushing response" to the country's enemies - including the US - following Israel's missile strike on the country a week ago.

"Enemies, whether the Zionist regime or the United States, will undoubtedly receive a crushing response for their actions against Iran and the Resistance Front," Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said in a speech in Tehran on Saturday, state television reported.

He was referring to the alliance of Tehran-backed armed groups that include Yemen's Houthi rebels, Lebanon's Hezbollah movement and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas.

Without offering more detail, Khamenei said hostile actions against the Islamic Republic "wouldn't be forgotten."

It was a possible reference to Israel's October 26 attack on military targets across Iran that killed five people, including a civilian. Israeli defence forces struck with more than 100 fighter jets, although there was no confirmation of major damage to oil or nuclear facilities.

Tributes paid

In his speech, Khamenei paid tribute to the slain soldiers, saying their efforts in confronting Israel "will not be forgotten".

Saturday's remarks marked a shift from Khamenei's more measured tone shortly after Israel's strike, which he characterised as a "miscalculation." At the time he cautioned against exaggerating or underestimating the significance of the attack, without any explicit threat of retaliation.

Khamenei said Iran was "certainly doing everything that should be done to prepare the Iranian nation, whether in terms of military, in terms of weapons, or in terms of political work", without elaborating.

Israel has warned Iran against responding to the October 26 attack.

Additional military assets deployed

The United States announced Friday the deployment of additional military assets to the Middle East, including ballistic missile defence destroyers and long-range B-52 bomber aircraft, serving as a warning to Iran as it and Israel trade tit-for-tat strikes.

Khamenei said Iran was "certainly doing everything that should be done to prepare the Iranian nation, whether in terms of military, in terms of weapons, or in terms of political work", without elaborating.