‘Our enemies know…’: Iran warns Israel not to target its infrastructure amid speculation of retaliation

Iran has warned Israel against launching an attack, saying it should not “test the resolution of the Islamic Republic,” else it would face “more powerful” retaliation.

Iran, last week, fired around 200 ballistic missiles at Israel as retaliation for the killing of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah. Soon after the Iranian attack, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a warning, saying: “Iran made a big mistake, and it will have to pay for it.”      

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said most of the Iranian missiles were intercepted and reports indicated only one person, who was in the West Bank, was killed.

Iran’s response will be ‘more powerful’

On Tuesday, Iran’s foreign minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi in a televised speech warned that any strike on Iranian infrastructure would be met with a stronger retaliation.

“We recommend the Zionist regime (Israel) not to test the resolution of the Islamic Republic. If any attack against our country takes place, our response will be more powerful,” Araghchi said.  

“Our enemies know what kind of targets inside the Zionist Regime (Israel) are in our reach,” he further said.  

Has Israel’s response against Iran been delayed?

Amid escalating tension in West Asia, Israel’s defence minister Yoav Gallant will travel to the US as his nation continues to consider ways to respond to Iran’s missile attack, while America urges restraint.

The Pentagon said that Gallant will be in Washington on Wednesday to discuss the “ongoing Middle East security developments” with US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin.

On Friday, US President Joe Biden said that he did not think Israel had yet decided how to respond.

Biden has, however, urged Israel not to strike Iran’s nuclear program or oil infrastructures as it could trigger a wider conflict and shoot up energy prices alongwith heavily impacting the global economy.  

“If Gallant is due in US this week, it’s clear Israel’s response against Iran has been delayed. The complexities of escalation and the need to convince — and perhaps coordinate — Israel’s response with the US seem to be top of mind,” Aaron David Miller, a Carnegie Endowment for International Peace Senior Fellow and former State Department Arab-Israeli negotiator, said in a post on X.  

If Gallant is due in US this week, it’s clear Israel’s response against Iran has been delayed. The complexities of escalation and the need to convince — and perhaps coordina — Israel’s response with the US seems to be top of mind. https://t.co/e3p2q2jQjy

— Aaron David Miller (@aarondmiller2) October 6, 2024

Israel weighing very carefully 

Meanwhile, William Burns, head of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) said that “the Israeli leadership is weighing very carefully how it’s going” to respond to Iran’s salvo and that it will take into account the White House’s concerns.

Burns also warned of the consequences of misjudgments by any side. “We face the very real danger of a further regional escalation of conflict. You can see the potential for inadvertent collisions, misunderstandings, actions that take on a life of their own,” he added.