By: Jake Smith, Daily Caller News Foundation
Iran is threatening that it will retaliate with weapons it “has not used before” if Israel launches retaliatory attacks against Tehran, according to the Arab news channel Al-Mayadeen.
Iran launched hundreds of drones and missiles — nearly all of which missed their targets or were shot down — against Israel on Saturday, in retaliation for Israeli airstrikes against Iranian military operatives in Syria in early April. Israel is currently weighing its own retaliation options against Iran, and Tehran is warning that it is prepared to take unprecedented action in response, Abolfazl Amouei, spokesperson for the Iranian Parliament’s National Security Committee, told Al-Mayadeen News on Monday.
“We will confront any Israeli aggression and respond to it,” Amouei told Al-Mayadeen, according to The New York Post. “We are ready to use weapons that we have not used before. We have plans for all scenarios and we call on the Zionists to act rationally.”
Amouei did not specify what type of weapons Iran was considering using against Israel, but Tehran is reportedly receiving military equipment from Russia, including attack helicopters and fighter jets, The Washington Post reported. In the attack on Saturday, Iran launched at least 170 suicide drones, 30 cruise missiles and 110 ballistic missiles.
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi made similar threats on Monday evening, promising a “severe, extensive and devastating” response if Israel chooses to strike back, according to Iran International. Another top official, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri Kani, said Monday that Tehran’s response would “come in a matter of seconds,” warning that Iran “will not wait for another 12 days to respond.”
Iran is hoping to avoid further conflict with Israel, with Raisi telling Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday that Tehran was not “seeking to escalate tensions further,” according to state media TASS. Iran’s attack on Saturday was largely unsuccessful and the country risks sparking a broader regional conflict depending on its next moves toward Israel.
“[Iran is] basically saying, ‘If Israel responds, we will respond 10 times greater.’ That’s ridiculous, they don’t have like they don’t have the measures to do that unilaterally,” Gabriel Noronha, executive director of Polaris National Security and former State Department official, previously told the Daily Caller News Foundation.
Similarly, Israel has vowed it is ready for any future conflict with Iran, warning that it must retaliate for the strikes on Saturday. Israel’s response may be tempered to prevent losing Western support, as the U.S. and European Union (EU) have told Israel it will not participate in a counterattack.
“[Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu] is now in a tough position, because if he strikes into Iran now — and especially if he hits Iranian nuclear facilities — he may get condemnation from some quarters in the West,” retired Lt. Col. Daniel Davis, a senior fellow and military expert at Defense Priorities, previously told the DCNF.
