Media: Iran prepares hundreds of missiles amid rising tensions with Israel, US

The Iranian military has prepared hundreds of missiles to launch from western borders should Israel or its top ally, the United States, strike back, said two members of the Revolutionary Guards familiar with the planning.

“If the Zionist regime reacts to Iran’s operation it will face more fierce attacks,” the Revolutionary Guards said in a statement, Caliber.Az reports, citing NYT.

The direct military strike on October 1 came after senior military commanders of the Revolutionary Guards Corps convinced the country’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, that it was the only course of action if Iran wanted to appear strong, according to three Iranian officials.

During the surprise attack, Iran launched about 180 ballistic missiles at Israel, the Israeli military said. Some landed, but most were intercepted, Israel said.

The statement said the missiles had been launched to retaliate for Israel’s assassination last week of Hassan Nasrallah, leader of Hezbollah, who was the most powerful figure in Iran’s “axis of resistance” — how it refers to its regional alliance of militants — and a close confidant of Khamenei.

“The attack was also intended to avenge the recent assassinations of the political leader of Hamas, the Gaza Strip militant group, and of a top Iranian commander who was with Nasrallah at the time,” the statement said.

Meanwhile, Iran’s new president, Masoud Pezeshkian, had been among those urging restraint, but on October 1 he said the missile strike was a legitimate act of self-defense. He warned Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that “Iran is not seeking war but it will stand firmly against any threats.”

He added: “This is only a small glimpse of our powers. Do not enter into a war with Iran.”

By Aghakazim Guliyev