Iran says it will retaliate against Israeli attacks with ‘all available means’

Tehran will “use all available tools” to respond to Israel’s attack on military targets in Iran over the weekend, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said on Monday.

While Iran had previously downplayed an Israeli airstrike on Saturday, saying it caused only limited damage, US President Joe Biden had called for an end to tensions that have raised fears of an all-out conflagration in the Middle East.

Speaking at a weekly televised press conference, Baghaei said: “(Iran) will use all available means to deliver a decisive and effective response to the Zionist regime (Israel).”

Baghaei added that the nature of Iran’s response depends on the nature of the Israeli attack, but did not elaborate.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Sunday that Iranian officials must determine how to best demonstrate Iran’s power to Israel, adding that the Israeli attack should be “neither underestimated nor exaggerated.”

The Israeli military said multiple Israeli jets completed three waves of attacks on missile factories and other areas near Tehran and in western Iran before dawn on Saturday.

The heavily armed arch-enemies had been in a cycle of retaliatory moves against each other for months; Saturday’s attack followed an Oct. 1 bombardment of Iranian missiles, most of which Israel said were shot down by its air defenses.

Iran supports Hezbollah, which has engaged in intense clashes with Israeli forces in Lebanon, as well as the Palestinian militant group Hamas, which is fighting Israel in the Gaza Strip.