Iran threatens to crush Israel if it responds to missiles fired

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) issued a stern warning on Tuesday, October 1, threatening “crushing attacks” against Israel if it retaliates for a missile strike launched earlier by Tehran. 

The IRGC’s statement, carried by the Fars news agency, emphasized that any response by Israel would be met with overwhelming force.

“If the Zionist regime reacts to Iranian operations, it will face crushing attacks,” the IRGC declared, justifying the missile strike as being “in accordance with the United Nations Charter.” According to the IRGC, the attack was a response to what it described as an “attack on the sovereignty” of Iran, referring to the killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran in July.

On Tuesday evening, Iranian forces fired a barrage of missiles targeting Israel’s commercial hub of Tel Aviv. Iranian state media aired footage of the missile launches, accompanied by patriotic music, underscoring the boldness of the strike. The United States had previously warned of an imminent Iranian ballistic missile assault on Israel and signaled that such actions would have “severe” consequences for Tehran.

The missile strike marks the second direct attack on Israel by Iran in six months. Back in April, Iran launched a missile and drone assault in response to an Israeli air strike on its consulate in Damascus, although most of those projectiles were intercepted by Israel and its allies.

This latest round of escalation follows an Israeli strike on Friday that killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, a long-time ally of Iran, as well as General Abbas Nilforoushan, a top commander of the IRGC’s Quds Force. In the wake of these killings, Iran vowed that Nilforoushan’s death “would not go unanswered.”

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, speaking at the UN General Assembly last month, accused Israel of warmongering, claiming Iran had exercised restraint following the killing of Haniyeh, despite pressure from regional allies. Pezeshkian asserted that promises from the United States of a ceasefire were “false,” adding that continued leniency would only embolden Israeli actions.

The Iranian regime, which does not recognize Israel, has long supported Palestinian groups, particularly Hamas. While Tehran hailed Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel, which triggered the ongoing Gaza conflict, it denied direct involvement.

Regional tensions continue to soar as Iran-aligned groups in Lebanon, Iraq, Syria, and Yemen increasingly join the fray, raising concerns of a broader regional conflict.