Iran’s supreme leader threatens US amid elections, vows ’crushing response’ to Israeli attack

Iran has vowed a “crushing response” to recent Israeli attacks — with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei claiming on Saturday that retaliation would also affect the allied US.

“The enemies, whether the Zionist regime or the United States of America, will definitely receive a crushing response to what they are doing to Iran and the Iranian nation and to the resistance front," Khamenei said in video released by Iranian state media.

It was not immediately clear when such an attack would take place with contradictory reports emerging this week. According to a recent New York Times report quoting officials in the know, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei had ordered plans drawn up by his Supreme National Security Council on Monday. The publication said a retaliatory attack would only come after the US elections on November 5.

Senior Iranian officials have also repeatedly indicated plans to launch “unimaginable” response to recent Israeli strikes in the coming days. Meanwhile Tel Aviv insisted that it would hit back “very hard” in case Tehran launched a fresh attack.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps confirmed on Sunday that the country would “certainly” launch a new attack against Israel.

“Details cannot be discussed, but it will certainly be carried out,” Ali Fadavi, IRGC’s deputy commander in chief, was cited as saying by the semi-official Iranian Students’ News Agency.

ISNA said the possible attack is expected to be named Operation True Promise 3, in line with the previous missile strikes on Israel in April and October.

Any further attacks from either side could engulf the Middle East into a wider regional conflict just ahead of the US presidential election this Tuesday. The region is already on shaky grounds due to the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip and the Israeli ground invasion of Lebanon.

(with inputs from agencies)