Iran’s supreme leader on Saturday threatened “a crushing response” to Israeli strikes on his country, as the Pentagon said it would deploy additional resources to the region in the coming months.
Tehran initially appeared to play down the damage caused by Israeli strikes inside Iran late last month, raising hopes that it might de-escalate the situation rather than pursue a new cycle of retaliation. But in recent days, Iranian officials have changed their tone.
Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has the authority as commander in chief to order strikes on Israel. In a statement posted online, he said on Saturday that Israel and the United States would “definitely receive a crushing response” for actions against Iran.
His remarks echoed two Iranian officials who this past week said that Iran would retaliate, with one telling state news media that a response would be “definite” and a second saying Iran would launch “a fierce, tooth-breaking” response.
After years of avoiding direct military clashes, Iran and Israel have been locked in an escalating monthslong cycle of retaliation that has drawn in their allies and proxies, bringing the region to the brink of an all-out war.
Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder, the Pentagon press secretary, said late Friday that Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III had ordered the deployment of fighter aircraft, ballistic missile defense destroyers and B-52 long-range bombers to assist in the defense of Israel and other U.S. interests in the region.
“Secretary Austin continues to make clear that should Iran, its partners, or its proxies use this moment to target American personnel or interests in the region, the United States will take every measure necessary to defend our people,” General Ryder said in a statement.
The United States has already bolstered its military presence in the region as tensions rise. It sent an advanced missile defense system, called the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system, or THAAD, and the 100 American troops needed to operate it, to Israel.
Their arrival less than two weeks ago was the first time that U.S. troops had been deployed to Israel for such a mission since the start of the war last October.
The Biden administration sent key envoys, including the C.I.A. director, to the Middle East this week in hopes of generating some momentum in talks to end Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza and its spiraling conflict with Hezbollah in Lebanon. Both groups are Iranian proxies. But those efforts have floundered, and the fighting has continued unabated.
On Friday, heavy Israeli strikes killed at least 52 people in central Lebanon, according to the Lebanese authorities, and seven people in Israel were killed by Hezbollah rocket attacks in the country’s north.
The Israeli military said on Saturday that its forces had struck more than 120 sites in both Lebanon and Gaza since the day before, including an airstrike in the Lebanese city of Tyre that it claimed killed two Hezbollah commanders. It also said troops were conducting ground operations in northern, central and southern Gaza.
In central Israel on Saturday, a rocket strike hit Tira, an Arab-majority town in central Israel, and injured several people. The Israeli military said that three rocket launches had been detected from Lebanon, including at the region that includes Tira.
Magen David Adom, Israel’s emergency medical service, said 11 people were wounded in Tira, with most of the injuries minor to moderate. A photograph and a video posted by the emergency service showed the top floor of a building with its walls blown out.
Hezbollah started striking Israel in solidarity with Hamas, its ally in Gaza, after the Oct. 7 Hamas-led attacks last year prompted Israel to launch a war against the group in Gaza.
After nearly a year of cross-border attacks that primarily landed in the border region, Hezbollah in recent months has taken aim deeper inside Israel. The militant group launched missiles at the densely populated Tel Aviv area in September and October. Those were intercepted with no reported injuries or damages.
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