Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei gave the order to prepare for a strike on Israel, the New York Times reported on Thursday quoting three Iranian officials. According to the paper the decision was made after the leader was briefed on the extent of damage caused by Israel's strike on Iran last Saturday. Khamenei, they said, was impressed by the number of casualties and the damage and said ignoring the results of the Israeli strike would be "admitting defeat."
The officials said the strike would come after the Nov. 5 U.S. presidential elections so as not to help the Republican candidate Donald Trump's chances.
Earlier Kamenei's senior aid Mohammad Mohammadi Golpayegani warned of a "harsh and regretful" response to Israel's strike.
"The recent action of the Zionist regime in attacking parts of our country was a desperate move and the Islamic Republic of Iran will give it a harsh and regretful response," the influential cleric, told the Tasnim news agency.
He praised Iran's air defense performance in "preventing the entry of the Zionist regime fighters into the territory" and said damage from the strikes was "minimal."
Fire in an Iranian base after Israel's attack last Saturday
The commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps Hossein Salami said Israel made a mistake and will see Iran's reaction that will "surpass imagination." He said Israel was wrong to believe it could change the balance of power in the region by launching a few missiles but saw how its air defenses failed during Iran's strike on October 1. During that attack, Iran launched some 200 ballistic missiles at Israel.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sent a clear message to Iran in a speech to the graduation ceremony of IDF cadets, saying Israel's primary goal to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear capability, remains unchanged.
"The bravado of the Iranian regime cannot mask the simple fact that Israel today has a greater freedom to operate in Iran than ever before," he said.
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