Iran Vows ‘More Powerful’ Attack if Israel Retaliates

If Israel retaliates against Iran, it will suffer a “stronger and more powerful” response, Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi warned.

Iran fired an estimated 180 ballistic missiles at Israel on Tuesday in an attack that Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) called self-defense over the killing of Hamas Political Bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran in July and in response to “the intensification of the regime’s evils with the support of the United States” over attacks in Gaza and Lebanon.

Iran’s “action is concluded unless the Israeli regime decides to invite further retaliation,” Araghchi said in a post on X, formerly Twitter. “In that scenario, our response will be stronger and more powerful.”

But “Israel doesn’t care anymore about these declarations,” said Beni Sabti, a researcher in the Iran program at The Institute for National Security Studies.

“I think [Araghchi is] talking to the U.S. between the lines, so the U.S. will prevent an Israeli attack,” he told Newsweek.

Dr. Nimrod Goren, senior fellow for Israeli affairs, Middle East Institute, who said Iran’s message will not be coming as a surprise to Israel, added that he believes Israel’s next steps will “probably be taken in close coordination with the U.S.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has already vowed to retaliate against Iran, when he said in a statement: “Iran made a major mistake tonight—and it will pay for it.” “We will stand by the rule we established: whoever attacks us—we will attack him,” Netanyahu added.

Similarly, Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesperson Daniel Hagari said: “There will be repercussions. We have plans.”

But “the main question lies with Israel’s main objective at the moment—maximizing the positive momentum of weakening Hezbollah in Lebanon, or seeking broader regional transformations,” Goren said.

“Should Israel go after the Iranian regime or its major assets, like nuclear facilities—rather than key infrastructures only—an Iranian ‘powerful attack’ will become more likely,” he added.

Goren went on to cast doubt on how “powerful” Iran’s response could be, “taking into account the limited damage caused by Iran’s attacks in April,” when Iran fired 110 ballistic missiles and 30 cruise missiles toward Israel in response to an Israeli airstrike on the Iranian Embassy in Damascus.

U.S. President Joe Biden has said his administration is “prepared to help Israel defend against these attacks and protect American personnel in the region.”

Vice President Kamala Harris made a speech in Washington, D.C., in which she called the attack “reckless and brazen.” She added: “Iran is a dangerous, destabilizing force in the Middle East and today’s attack on Israel only further demonstrates that fact.”

In a statement shared with Newsweek, an Israeli security official said that, in cooperation with U.S. Air Forces Central, the Israeli Air Force “operated in an effective and precise manner, intercepting most of the missile—several hits were identified, and the damage is being assessed.”

Iranian Permanent Representative to the U.N. Amir Saeid Iravani further threatened a “swift, decisive and stronger response” should Israel strike back in a letter sent to U.N. leadership and shared with Newsweek.

Newsweek has contacted Iravani and the Israeli Ministry of Defense via email for comment.