'Our Response Will Be More Severe': Iran Ups The Stakes As Fears Of Possible Israeli Retaliation Grow

Hours after Iran fired a barrage of missiles at Israel, sending Israelis diving into shelters, the country’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said their “self-defence” exercise against Israel had concluded, unless the “Israeli regime decides to invite further retaliation”. Araqchi stressed that any potential response by the Israeli regime and its supporters would be met with a more severe one. Iran’s chief of staff also vowed to hit infrastructure across Israel if its territory is attacked.

The barrage “will be repeated with bigger intensity and all infrastructure of the regime will be targeted”, Major General Mohammad Bagheri said on state TV.

Celebrations broke out across Iran after a salvo of missiles rained in Israel from Tehran on Tuesday, in retaliation for the killing of several leaders of Iran-aligned armed groups, amid the ongoing Middle East tensions.

With this, Iran referenced Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and Revolutionary Guard General Abbas Nilforushan, both killed in an Israeli airstrike last week in Beirut. It also mentioned Ismail Haniyeh, a top leader in Hamas who was assassinated in Tehran in a suspected Israeli attack in July.

Araqchi also said Iran’s action against Israel came after exercising tremendous restraint to give space for a ceasefire in Gaza.

“Our action is concluded unless the Israeli regime decides to invite further retaliation. In that scenario, our response will be stronger and more powerful,” Araqchi said.

Israel said it intercepted many of the missiles, and officials in Washington said US destroyers assisted in Israel’s defense.

Iran said most of its missiles hit their targets. Despite the severity of Tuesday’s attack, there was no immediate report of casualties in Israel.

Later, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to retaliate against Iran, which he said “made a big mistake tonight and it will pay for it”.

An Iranian commander threatened wider strikes on infrastructure if Israel retaliated against Iran’s territory.

Israel also said it will continue to strike Hezbollah in Lebanon until it is safe for citizens displaced from homes near the Lebanon border to return. Hezbollah has vowed to keep firing rockets into Israel until there is a ceasefire in Gaza with Hamas, which is also supported by Iran.

Earlier, Iran’s Foreign Ministry had called on the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to take “meaningful action” to prevent threats against regional peace and security.

“I am optimistic about future days. There is a possibility of conflict but our forces are fully prepared. We expect to gradually witness stability in our region over the coming days,” the Iranian Foreign Minister said, according to Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency.

Meanwhile, the United Nations Security Council called an emergency meeting to address the spiralling conflict.

IRAN SAYS ‘NO EXCHANGE’ OF MESSAGES WITH US BEFORE ISRAEL ATTACK

Following the attack, Araghchi also said that there was “no exchange” of messages with the United States before Iran’s missile attack on Israel.

“Before the attack, there was no exchange of messages,” Araghchi told state TV, adding that Iran communicated with the US after the attack through the Swiss embassy in Tehran.

“The main point of the message we conveyed to the Americans was that we were taking defensive action within the framework of the United Nations Charter,” he said.

“We have also warned the US forces to withdraw from this matter and not to intervene, otherwise they will face a harsh response from us.”

He added that Iran informed the US that the “operation is over and we do not intend to continue”.

IRAN CELEBRATES ATTACK

Iran boasted of its great success after it struck Israel, sparking celebrations in parts of the country.

For the Iranian regime and its supporters, the attack provided a rare moment to celebrate after several weeks in which Iran and its proxies suffered a series of stunning setbacks as Israeli strikes took out almost all of the Hezbollah terror group’s senior leadership in a series of brazen strikes, The Times Of Israel reported.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei tweeted an illustration of a large underground weapons cache, with the message “Victory comes from Allah and it is close”.

AIRLINES IN GULF ADJUST ROUTES

Several airlines operating in the Gulf have adjusted their flight routes to ensure passenger safety following Iran’s attack on Israel. Neighbouring countries have closed their airspace and airline crews are navigating alternative routes to avoid the escalating conflict.

Abu Dhabi’s Etihad Airways said it is rerouting several flights on Wednesday due to airspace restrictions in parts of the Middle East. Etihad said it is continuously monitoring security and airspace updates as the situation evolves.

Emirates cancelled all flights to and from Iraq (Basra and Baghdad), Iran, and Jordan on October 2 and 3. The airline is closely monitoring the situation in the region and is in contact with relevant authorities regarding any developments.

Qatar Airways temporarily suspended flights to and from Iraq and Iran due to airspace closures.

Flydubai cancelled flights to Jordan, Iraq, Israel, and Iran on October 2 and 3 due to the temporary closure of airspace, according to a statement provided to Reuters.

Kuwait Airways said on Tuesday it had adjusted the flight routes for some of its services, resulting in changes to destination timings.

FEARS OF A BROADER CONFLICT

Israel and Hezbollah have traded fire across the Lebanon border almost daily since October 8, the day after Hamas’s cross-border attack on October 7, 2023, which killed 1,200 Israelis and took 250 others hostage. Israel declared war on the militant group in the Gaza Strip in response.

More than 41,000 Palestinians have so far been killed in the territory, and just over half the dead have been women and children, according to local health officials.

Hezbollah and Hamas are close allies backed by Iran, and each escalation has raised fears of a wider war in the Middle East that could draw in Iran and the United States, which has rushed military assets to the region in support of Israel, The Associated Press reported.

Israel and Iran have fought a shadow war for years, but rarely have they come into direct conflict.

In April this year, Iran launched a direct attack on Israel. However, few of its projectiles reached their targets, while many of those were shot down by a US-led coalition, as others apparently failed at launch or crashed in flight.