Hurt us—and we will hurt them: Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu

Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has suggested that any retaliation to Israel’s attack will be carefully considered rather than immediate. This is because Iran is trying to manage the needs of its own citizens while avoiding actions that could escalate tensions in the region. A day after Israel launched three attacks on Iran, Khamenei delivered a speech cautioning people against becoming complacent and hinted that Iran’s response would take time.

Khamenei stated that the danger posed by the Zionist state should not be exaggerated or underestimated. He also emphasised that Israel’s “strategic mistakes” must be challenged.

Khamenei, Iran’s highest authority who holds ultimate decision-making power, did not issue a direct threat of retaliation. Instead, he mentioned that it would be up to senior Iranian leaders to determine how Tehran should respond. “Our officials will demonstrate the strength and resolve of the Iranian people…and take whatever actions are in the nation’s best interests,” he said.

Amid growing fears that the tensions between Israel, Iran and Iran-backed militants could escalate into a larger war, Khamenei’s remarks aim to reassure the Iranian public. His statements suggest that the government is trying to convey that the strikes were less damaging than initially believed.

Early on Saturday (October 26), Israeli warplanes targeted several military locations across three Iranian provinces, including Tehran. According to Iran, the missiles were launched from Iraq, rather than Israeli jets entering Iranian airspace. The Israeli military stated that the strikes were in retaliation to Iran’s ballistic missile attack on Israel three weeks earlier and they specifically targeted missile production facilities and air defence systems. These attacks resulted in the deaths of four soldiers.

On Sunday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that Israel’s air force had carried out strikes “across Iran”, significantly weakening Iran’s defence systems and its missile production capabilities. The attacks achieved their goals because of their accuracy and intensity. During a ceremony honouring the Israelis killed since Hamas’s October 7 attack that sparked the conflict, Netanyahu remarked, “This regime needs to understand a simple rule: if they hurt us, we will hurt them.”

Iran’s first reaction was to downplay the impact of the attacks. On Saturday, the General Staff of the Armed Forces announced that the republic “reserves its legal and legitimate right to retaliate at a suitable time”. In a statement, Iran emphasised that its main goal was to push for a ceasefire in Gaza and Lebanon, where Israeli forces are fighting against Hamas and Hezbollah, both backed by Iran.

Israel’s strikes were a response to an Iranian attack on October 1, when Iran launched 180 ballistic missiles at Israel. Iran’s attack came after Israel had killed Hassan Nasrallah, leader of Hezbollah, the Lebanese group that is Iran’s most important ally in the region. However, both sides appeared to be trying to avoid an all-out war.

After Netanyahu banned his ministers from giving interviews on Saturday, Israel’s government has remained largely quiet about the Iranian attack. As a result, the Israeli military offered only brief details about the “precise strikes” on missile production sites and air defence systems, while also warning of more attacks if Tehran chose to retaliate. While Netanyahu’s government was planning its response to Iran’s ballistic missile attack three weeks ago, the United States had urged Israel not to strike Iran’s nuclear or energy facilities.

Israel has announced that the assault has ended and the Biden Administration has expressed that Israel’s retaliation should bring an end to this latest round of violence between the opposing sides. An American official mentioned that the United States has conveyed this message to Iran through both direct and indirect channels. The official stated that there would be “consequences” if Iran reacted and that the US would stand by Israel.

During phone calls with his Egyptian and Qatari counterparts on Saturday, foreign minister Abbas Araghchi emphasised that Iran would not hesitate to take “strong and proportional action” against any “breach of territorial integrity”. However, he added that any response would come “at the right time”.

In its statement, Iran’s military claimed that they intercepted a “significant” number of Israeli missiles. It added that the missiles that did hit their targets caused only “minor damage” to some radar systems and many of those systems had already been fixed. According to Iran’s air defence headquarters, Israel attacked military bases located in Tehran, as well as in the western province of Ilam and the southwestern province of Khuzestan.

Iranian state television reported that the disruptions had little impact on everyday life. In street interviews, residents either said they did not hear any explosions or minimized the importance of the incident. The coverage, often seen as a reflection of the Islamic Republic’s strategic goals and messaging, praised Iran’s air defence systems, presenting the attack as a win for Iran and a setback for Israel.

Riyadh described Israel’s attack as a “breach of international law”, and Arab nations, including Iran’s usual regional rivals, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, criticized the attack, highlighting their worries about increased tensions in the region.

(The author of this article is a Defence, Aerospace & Political Analyst based in Bengaluru. He is also Director of ADD Engineering Components, India, Pvt. Ltd, a subsidiary of ADD Engineering GmbH, Germany. You can reach him at: girishlinganna@gmail.com)

(Disclaimer: The views expressed above are the author's own and do not reflect those of DNA)