Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei renewed the current regime's commitment that Israel "must be punished and it shall be" for recently attacking the Iranian embassy compound in Syria, which resulted in the death of two generals and five other members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
"When they attack the consulate, it is as if they have attacked our soil," Khamenei said in a speech marking the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. "The evil regime made a mistake and must be punished and it shall be."
The statement was made on Wednesday (Apr. 10) in an apparent escalation of Israel's war against regional adversaries. A similar statement was made last week during the funeral of the seven IRGC personnel.
In response, Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said that his country would respond if Iran attacked Israel from its own soil.
اگر ایران از خاک خود حمله کند، اسرائیل واکنش نشان داده و در ایران حمله خواهد کرد @khamenei_ir
— ישראל כ”ץ Israel Katz (@Israel_katz) April 10, 2024
"If Iran attacks from its own territory, Israel will respond and attack in Iran," he said in a post on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, which was written in both Hebrew and Arabic.
Neither Katz nor the Ayatollah elaborated on the way they would retaliate.
Iran has been backing groups that have entered the fray across the region since Israel launched its invasion of Gaza following the Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel by Hamas, Reuters reported.
Aside from Hamas, the Iran-backed Hezbollah was also exchanging fire with Israeli troops stationed in the border shared by Israel and Lebanon.
