Iran threatens ‘crushing response’ to any Israeli attack

TEHRAN

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi vowed a “crushing response” on Tuesday to any Israeli attacks against his country.

“We advise the Zionist regime (Israel) not to test Iran’s will,” he said at an event in Tehran attended by the ambassadors of Iraq, Yemen, Lebanon, and Syria.

“Any attack on Iran will be met with a crushing response,” he warned.

The top Iranian diplomat said that last year’s Hamas attack against Israel “led to significant developments that were not in Tel Aviv's favor.”

Araghchi warned that any attack on Iran’s infrastructure “would be met with a firm response.”

Iran is on high alert amid anticipation of an imminent response from Israel to an Oct. 1 missile strike by Tehran, which came amid rising regional tensions over Israel’s ongoing war on the Gaza Strip, now in its second year.

The conflict has spread to Lebanon with Israel launching massive airstrikes across the country, which have killed more than 1,250 people and injured over 3,600 others since Sept. 23.

Despite international warnings that the Middle East region was on the brink of a regional war amid Israel’s relentless attacks on Gaza and Lebanon, Tel Aviv expanded the conflict by launching on Oct. 1 a ground invasion into southern Lebanon.

*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala