Israeli attack on Iran 'should not be magnified or belittled', says Khamenei

Supreme leader says Tehran authorities will determine response to Israeli strikes

Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei at a meeting in Tehran on Sunday, October 27. He says Israel must understand the determination of the Iranian people. Reuters

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Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has said Israel's Saturday attack on his country should neither be exaggerated nor played down, in his first comments on the offensive.

Four Iranian soldiers and a civilian were killed in the strikes, which analysts said targeted ballistic missile production centres in several provinces. The “evil” attack “should not be magnified or belittled”, said Mr Khamenei, according to state media.

“The miscalculations of the Israeli regime must be disrupted. It is essential to make them understand the strength, will, and initiative of the Iranian nation and its youth,” he said while meeting the families of the four dead.

Iranian news outlets named the civilian killed in the attack as Allahverdi Rahimpour.

While Iran's government has condemned the attack, the army said the strikes inflicted “limited damage”, and the US has warned Tehran against responding.

“It is up to the authorities to determine how to convey the power and will of the Iranian people to the Israeli regime and to take actions that serve the interests of this nation,” Mr Khamenei added.

His comments came as Israeli leaders were expected to meet to discuss the attack. Israel's war cabinet will convene on Sunday to deliberate on a potential Iranian response, Israeli public broadcaster Kan reported.

Explosions were heard in Tehran on Saturday morning as Israel launched an attack on military bases in Ilam, Khuzestan and Tehran provinces. Israel said the attack was in response to an Iranian missile barrage launched at Tel Aviv on October 1, itself a response to the Israeli assassination of Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah and a senior commander in Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

“The air force attacked throughout Iran. We hit hard Iran's defence capabilities and its ability to produce missiles that are aimed at us,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a speech, calling the attack “precise and powerful” and saying it met all its objectives.

While Iran's Foreign Ministry said the country was “obligated” to defend itself, a statement from the military seemed to play down the Israeli strikes, saying Tehran “recognises its responsibilities towards regional peace and security”.

The US urged Tehran not to retaliate. “Iran should not make the mistake of responding to Israel’s strikes, which should mark the end of this exchange,” Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said in a post on social media network X.

However, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said US complicity the attack is “quite clear”, after Israel insisted it was not influenced by the US in its decision to attack military sites in Iran.

Mr Araghchi accused the US of providing a “space corridor” and equipment needed by Israel to conduct the strike.

Analysts said the strikes damaged ballistic missile production centres in several locations. Israel hit Parchin, a military complex near Tehran, and a missile production site called Khojir, they told Reuters.

The strikes may have “significantly hampered Iran's ability to mass produce missiles”, said Decker Eveleth, an associate research analyst at a Washington-based think tank.

“Israel says they targeted buildings housing solid-fuel mixers. These industrial mixers are hard to make and export-controlled. Iran imported many over the years at great expense, and will likely have a hard time replacing them.”

As Iran assessed the aftermath of the attack, the Israeli army continued to attack Gaza and Lebanon, where several people were killed overnight Saturday and early on Sunday.

Air strikes were reported across Beirut's suburbs and in southern parts of Lebanon. An intensive bombardment hit the southern districts of Tyre and Bint Jbeil, Lebanon's state-run National News Agency reported, with at least three people killed.

Three others died in a strike on the town of Zoutar Al Sharqiya in the Nabatieh area, the health ministry said on Sunday morning. Casualties were also reported after strikes on Al Zarariyeh.

In the Beirut region, air raids were reported on the suburbs of Al Hadath, Burj Al Barajneh and Haret Hreik on Saturday. The Israeli army had issued another eviction order to civilians in the area on Saturday night.

Israeli strikes and shelling have killed at least 2,653 people across Lebanon since cross-border fighting began last October, before Israel launched an all-out war on Lebanon-based militant group Hezbollah last month and a subsequent ground invasion.

Four more Israeli soldiers were killed in southern Lebanon on Saturday, the Israeli army announced. Fourteen others were wounded in the same incident, with several said to be seriously injured.

The Israeli military called on residents of 14 villages in southern Lebanon to leave immediately and move north of the Awali river on Sunday. The army has regularly issued eviction orders ahead of attacks. At least five people were killed by Israeli bombings in the south Lebanese city of Saida.

Dozens of people were also injured in a ramming attack outside Israel's Mossad intelligence headquarters in Tel Aviv on Sunday morning, according to Israeli police and paramedics.

A lorry was driven into a bus stop outside the Glilot base, which is home to a military intelligence unit. The driver was shot dead, according to police and local media reports.