TEHRAN: A day after Iran’s supreme leader vowed retaliation for attacks by Israel, President Masoud Pezeshkian said a potential ceasefire bet­ween its allies and Israel “could affect the intensity” of Tehran’s response to the recent strikes.

“If they (the Israelis) reconsider their behaviour, accept a ceasefire and stop massacring the oppressed and innocent people of the region, it could affect the intensity and type of our response,” Masoud Pezeshkian said on Sunday.

However, he added, Iran “will not leave unanswered any aggression against its sovereignty and security”.

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Israeli warplanes carried out the October 26 strikes in what Israel said was retaliation for Tehran’s October 1 missile barrage, which Iran had described as a reprisal for the killing of a Revolutionary Guards commander.

Since the strikes last month, Israel has warned Iran against retaliating, while Tehran vowed to respond.

On Saturday, Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has the final say in all matters of the state, said the Islamic republic would retaliate.

“The enemies, both the USA and the Zionist regime, should know that they will definitely rec­eive a tooth-breaking res­ponse to what they are doing against Iran, the Iranian nation, and the resistance front,” Khame­nei said in a speech to students in Tehran. He was referring to the alliance of Houthis, Hezbollah and Hamas.

Published in Dawn, November 4th, 2024