Iran's supreme leader vows Israel and US to receive 'crushing response' to attack

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei waves to the crowd in a meeting in Tehran on October 27. Credit: AP

Iran's supreme leader has threatened a "crushing response" to an attack launched by Israel last Saturday, which killed at least five people.

The strikes targeted military bases, with satellite images showing damaged sites near Tehran linked to the country's ballistic missile program and damage at a base used in satellite launches.

In a video released by Iranian state media, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said: “The enemies, whether the Zionist regime or the United States of America, will definitely receive a crushing response to what they are doing to Iran and the Iranian nation and to the resistance front."

He did not elaborate on the timing of a retaliatory attack or its scale. The US military is currently operating throughout the Middle East, with some troops manning air defence systems in Israel.

Iran's 85-year-old leader said in earlier comments officials were considering the country's response, and that Israel's attack “should not be exaggerated nor downplayed.”

Meanwhile, Israel's emergency services said 11 people were injured by shrapnel and glass in the early hours of Saturday in attack on the town of Tira.

Israel’s military said three projectiles crossed into Israel from Lebanon, and some were intercepted. Others landed in unpopulated areas.

Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah group said on Saturday that it had used missiles and explosive drones to target military and intelligence facilities in northern and central Israel.

A man looks at damaged building after projectiles fired from Lebanon hit a home in Tira. Credit: AP

It claimed responsibility for firing missiles toward the Israeli military’s Unit 8200 base in Glilot, on the edge of Tel Aviv, and for firing rockets toward military facilities in Zvulun.

Hezbollah also said it had struck central Israel's Palmachim Air Base with explosive drones, saying they “scored precise hits on targets."

Israel's military did not confirm whether any of the three Hezbollah targets had been hit and said it had no comment on the group's claims.

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Israel had continued airstrikes in both Gaza and Lebanon, where it claims to target militant groups Hezbollah and Hamas. Both groups are backed by Iran.

Israel launched dozens of attacks across the north-east of Lebanon, killing at least 52 people and wounding many more, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry.

In central Gaza, Palestinians recovered the bodies of 25 people killed in a barrage of Israeli strikes that began Thursday, hospital officials said.

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