Iran’s supreme leader vows ‘teeth-breaking’ response to Israel and US after strikes on military sites

By Vasco Cotovio and Sophie Tanno, CNN

(CNN) — Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has promised a “teeth-breaking” response to Israel and the United States after Israel targeted Iranian military sites in retaliatory strikes late last month.

“The enemies, both the US and the Zionist regime (Israel), should know that they will definitely receive a teeth-breaking response for what they are doing against Iran and the resistance front,” said Khamenei, referring to Iran-allied militant groups including Hamas and Hezbollah.

He was speaking during a meeting with students on Saturday, ahead of the anniversary of the 1979 seizure of the US embassy in Tehran, Iran’s state-run Press TV reported.

“We are certainly doing everything necessary to prepare the Iranian nation to stand against arrogance, whether in terms of military readiness, armaments, or political actions, and thank God, our officials are currently engaged in this,” he added.

Iran and Israel have long been enemies, a rivalry that deepened following Hamas’ attacks of October 7 last year and the subsequent Israeli invasion of Gaza. Israel has been battling Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, and overnight at least 19 people were injured in the central Israeli city of Tira after projectiles were launched over the border.

Khamenei’s remarks come a week after Israel’s latest round of strikes on Iran in response to the Islamic Republic’s October 1 missile attack on the Jewish state, which itself was a response to the Israeli killing of leaders from Hamas and Hezbollah.

For the first time, Israeli officials admitted hitting targets on Iranian soil in a significant escalation of tensions, although Israel stopped short of hitting Iranian energy or nuclear facilities.

Iran has been mulling its response to Israel’s strikes, with a high-ranking source telling CNN on Wednesday that they will be met with a “definitive and painful” retaliation that will likely come before the US presidential vote.

Khamenei’s remarks on Saturday signal a departure from Iran’s initial attempts to downplay the severity of the strikes carried out by Israel on October 25.

Following the strikes, Khamenei took a more measured tone, saying the attacks should “neither be exaggerated nor downplayed.”

An Israeli military source on Thursday said the country is at a “high level of readiness” for a response from Iran. But the source told CNN that they are “still assessing the decision-making process in Iran” to determine if and when a retaliation will take place.

White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre on Wednesday said Iran should not respond to Israel’s strikes on its territory, adding that “if Iran does choose to respond, however, the US will be standing by to assist Israel in its defense.”

Also this week, Iran said it could increase the range of its missiles, according to a report in state-run media. “If the Islamic Republic of Iran faces an existential threat, we will inevitably change the policy of our military doctrine,” the head of Iran’s Strategic Council on Foreign Relations, Kamal Kharrazi, told Lebanon’s al-Mayadeen TV on Friday, per Press TV.

He also said Iran is capable of producing nuclear weapons but remains curbed by a mandate by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei against weapons of mass destruction, Press TV reported.

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CNN’s Jennifer Hauser, Matthew Chance and Kayla Tausche contributed to this report.