Iran is preparing to “respond” to Israel, Ali Larijani, a senior adviser to the country’s supreme leader, said in an interview published by Iran’s Tasnim news agency on Sunday.
On October 26, Israeli fighter jets carried out three waves of attacks on Iranian military targets, a few weeks after Iran fired a barrage of about 200 ballistic missiles against Israel. Iran has previously vowed to respond to Isarel’s attacks.
Tehran is also likely to increase the range of its ballistic missiles and possibly review its nuclear doctrine Kamal Kharrazi, an adviser to the supreme leader of Iran has stated. The claim comes amid growing tensions with Israel and tit-for-tat missile and airstrikes.
Asked by Lebanon-based pro-Tehran broadcaster Al-Mayadeen whether Iran was ready if conflict were to expand after the recent strikes, Kharrazi said Iran was likely to up the range of its ballistic missiles beyond a self-imposed limit of 2,000 km.
Israeli intelligence suggests Iran is preparing to attack Israel from Iraqi territory in the coming days. The attack is expected to be carried out from Iraq using a large number of drones and ballistic missiles, according to a Western media outlet that spoke to two unidentified Israeli sources.
The report said that carrying out the attack through pro-Tehran militias in Iraq could be an attempt by Tehran to avoid another Israeli attack against strategic targets in Iran.
Israel and Iran have engaged in a series of tit-for-tat military strikes, part of broader Middle East warfare set off by fighting in Gaza.
The U.S. military has deployed the THAAD, or the Terminal High Altitude Area Defence system in Israel. THAAD is a critical part of the U.S. military’s layered air defence systems and adds to Israel’s already formidable anti-missile defences.
Outgoing U.S. President Joe Biden said the THAAD’s deployment, along with about 100 American soldiers, was meant to help defend Israel, which is weighing an expected retaliation against Iran after Tehran fired more than 180 missiles at Israel on October 1.
Team Bharatshakti
(With inputs from Reuters)
