Iranian military officials should decide how to respond to Friday night's Israeli attack on Iran, but the development should neither be downplayed nor exaggerated, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Sunday in his first response to the attack.
A debate has broken out within Iran over whether the Israeli attack, more limited than some had predicted, justifies a military response and whether the country will be seen as weak if it does nothing.
“The evil committed by the Zionist regime [Israel] “What happened two nights ago should not be downplayed or exaggerated,” Khamenei said.
Khamenei said Iran's power must be demonstrated to Israel, adding: “It is up to the authorities to determine how to convey the power and will of the Iranian people to the Israeli regime and take actions that serve the interests of this nation and country. “
His comments suggest that no immediate military response is planned as Iran weighs its options.
Tehran on Saturday downplayed Israel's overnight airstrike on Iranian military targets, saying it caused limited damage, and US President Joe Biden called for a halt to the escalation amid fears of a full war in the Middle East. .
According to anonymous officials quoted in the New York Times, Israel's attack destroyed air defense systems established to protect several critical oil and petrochemical refineries and a large fuel field. According to the report, the air defenses attacked included those around the Bandar Imam Khomeini petrochemical complex and the neighboring port of Bandar Imam Khomeini.
In his first response, Iran's president-elect Masoud Pezeshkian mourned the loss of four Iranian soldiers killed in the Israeli attack. In a statement he added: “Iran's enemies should know that these brave people fearlessly defend their land and will respond to any stupidity with tact and intelligence.”
Former Foreign Minister and current strategic advisor to the government, Javad Zarif, also made no direct threat of retaliation and instead said in a lengthy statement: “The West should move away from its outdated and dangerous paradigm. It must condemn Israel's recent acts of aggression and join Iran in efforts to end apartheid, genocide and violence in Palestine, Lazo and Lebanon. It is essential to recognize Iran's firm determination for peace; This unique opportunity should not be missed.”
Iran's mission to the UN in New York, often used as a means of communicating media messages to the West, accused the United States of being complicit in the attack, as Israeli warplanes attacked Iran from Iraqi airspace: “Iraqi airspace is under occupation, command and management of the US military. Conclusion: the complicity of the United States in this crime is certain.”
The mission also wrote to the UN Security Council to accuse Israel of a violation of Iranian sovereignty.
Abbas Araghchi, Iran's foreign minister, added: “It seems to have been completely demonstrated that without the United States, Israel does not necessarily have any power in the region, not only in the operation it has carried out against Iran, but in all operations.” that he has done. “What it has done in Lazo, Lebanon and other places, we believe the United States has been complicit in all of these cases.”
He highlighted the reaction of the countries in the region to the Israeli attack. “Since yesterday [Saturday] Until now we are regularly receiving messages from different countries, the statements they issued, the level of condemnation from different countries in the region. “It is truly remarkable that it has taken place at this international level.”
Iran has to weigh the possible diplomatic damage that a new attack could cause to its improved relations with its Arab partners, the impact on the country's weakened economy and the likelihood that a new Israeli attack would cause considerably more damage than the de-escalation exercise. on Friday.
Public support for Iran's costly foreign policy is fragile, the latest poll by the Center East Institute shows.