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Iran to determine how to respond after Israel's attack: Khamenei

Many world leaders, including Biden, have called for a halt to escalation

Published: Sun 27 Oct 2024, 12:47 PM

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  • Reuters

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Photo: AFP file

Photo: AFP file

Iranian officials should determine how best to demonstrate Iran's power to Israel after the Israeli attack on Iran on Saturday, Iran's official IRNA news agency cited the country's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as saying.

"The evil committed by (Israel) two nights ago should neither be downplayed nor exaggerated", he added.

Iran on Saturday played down Israel's overnight air attack against Iranian military targets, saying it caused only limited damage.

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Scores of Israeli jets completed three waves of strikes before dawn against missile factories and other sites near Tehran and in western Iran, Israel's military said.

Khamenei said Iran's power should be demonstrated to Israel, adding that the way to do so should be "determined by the officials and that which is in the best interest of the people and the country should take place".

Calls for de-escalation

The attack, which Israel says was in retaliation for Iran's missile attack on it earlier this month, drew calls of de-escalation from many world leaders.

US President Joe Biden called for a halt to escalation that has raised fears of an all-out conflagration in the Middle East.

The UAE has strictly condemned the military targeting of Iran, expressing "deep concern" over the continuation of escalation and its consequences on regional security and stability.

The country's Ministry of Foreign Affairs stressed "the importance of exercising utmost self-restraint" to mitigate risks and prevent the expansion of the scale of conflict.

Saudi Arabia, Oman and Qatar have condemned the attack as well.

Riyadh has reaffirmed its position in rejecting the continuing escalation in the region. Oman said the attack constitutes a flagrant violation of Iran's sovereignty and "a clear breach of the rules of international law," Oman's foreign ministry said in a post on X.

Qatar expressed "its strong condemnation and denunciation of Israel's targeting of the Islamic Republic of Iran, considering this act a blatant violation of Iran's sovereignty and a clear breach of the principles of international law."

Egypt said it is gravely concerned over the escalation in the Middle East, and condemns all measures that threaten regional security and stability, the foreign ministry said in a statement.

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