Iran says military response to Israel may change if it agrees to cease-fire

TEHRAN, Iran

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Sunday that his country would respond to Israel's recent attack on its territory, but its nature and intensity could change if Israel stops its aggression in the region and agrees to a cease-fire.

Pezeshkian was speaking during a Cabinet meeting in the capital, Tehran.

He noted that leaders from the US and European countries promised Iran that they would announce a cease-fire in Gaza if Tehran refrained from responding to the assassination in July of Ismail Haniyeh, the political leader of the Palestinian group Hamas.

He said Israel "tried to provoke war by assassinating Haniyeh on the first day of our government’s work.”

Pezeshkian said Iran showed restraint based on the advice of some countries, hoping to reach a cease-fire and end the killing of innocent women and children.

Reaffirming Iran’s intent to respond to the Israeli attack, Pezeshkian said: “If they reconsider their actions, agree to a cease-fire, and stop killing the oppressed and innocent in the region, this could affect the type and intensity of our response.”

In the early hours of Oct. 26, the Israeli military announced that it had launched a four-hour assault on Iran, which confirmed that it had “successfully repelled attempts by the Zionist entity to attack certain points in Tehran and across the country,” resulting in the deaths of four Iranian soldiers, according to an official statement.

Since then, Israel has raised its alert level and deployed the American THAAD air defense system, anticipating an Iranian response.

On Saturday, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei vowed “a harsh response” against both the US and Israel for their actions against Tehran.

Addressing a large group of students in the capital, Khamenei said: “We are certainly doing everything necessary to prepare the Iranian nation to stand against arrogance, whether in terms of military readiness, armaments or political actions, and our officials are currently engaged in this.”

Israel’s latest attack followed Iran’s launch of over 180 rockets at Israel in early October, which Tehran said was “revenge” for the assassination of Haniyeh, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) commander Abbas Nilforoushan.

Since Oct. 7, 2023, Israel has committed what many view as genocide in Gaza, killing more than 43,300 Palestinians, most of them women and children, with more than 10,000 people missing.

Israel continues its attacks, ignoring the UN Security Council’s demand for an immediate end to the onslaught and the International Court of Justice’s orders to take measures to prevent genocide and improve Gaza’s catastrophic humanitarian situation.

*Writing by Alperen Aktas from Istanbul