TEHRAN – Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei has hinted that Iran will be responding to Israel’s Saturday attacks, telling the country’s military officials to make Israel realize the power and resolve of Iran through a response they see fit. 

“They (the Israelis) need to understand the power, determination, and innovation of the Iranian nation and its youth,” he said during a Sunday meeting with families of Iran’s fallen military personnel. “How to convey this power and resolve of the Iranian nation to the Zionist regime is for our officials to determine, and what is in the best interest of the nation and the country should be done.”

The Leader further emphasized that Israel’s evil act should “neither be exaggerated nor downplayed.”

Israeli fighter jets fired long-range ballistic missiles at Iran’s defense radars from Iraq’s airspace in the early hours of Saturday. While the attacks were mostly repelled and the regime’s war jets were prevented from entering Iran’s airspace, four military personnel serving the country’s Army lost their lives during the airstrikes. One civilian was also pronounced martyred on Sunday. 

During his Sunday remarks, Ayatollah Khamenei also condemned the appalling atrocities committed by the Zionist regime in Gaza, highlighting the martyrdom of ten thousand children and over ten thousand women as emblematic of the most horrific war crimes. 

"War operates within a framework of rules, laws, and limitations. These limitations can’t just be disregarded during a war. However, the criminal gang ruling over the occupied lands has trampled all boundaries and rules underfoot," he remarked.

Regarding the issue of confronting the Zionist regime, the Leader mentioned a major shortcoming on the part of governments, nations, and international organizations such as the United Nations.

“What the regime did and is doing in Gaza and ... Lebanon is one of the most brutal war crimes,” he pointed out.
“The world must stand against them (the Zionists), governments must stand up, especially the Islamic governments.”

Helping Israel is among “the worst and biggest sins,” the Leader stressed, calling for the formation of a global political and economic coalition against the evil regime, and if deemed necessary a military one.

Elsewhere in his remarks, Ayatollah Khamenei warned that a weak nation that cannot defend itself will naturally lose its security.

“The thing that maintains the security for a country is its national power; it is the strength of that country ... in all fields,” including science, economy, the possibility of defense, and weapons, he stated.