Iran's Khamenei: Israel attack 'should neither be exaggerated nor minimized'

TEHRAN

Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has said Israel's attack on the Islamic Republic "should neither be exaggerated nor minimized.”

"The evil perpetrated by the Zionist regime [Israel] two nights ago must not be exaggerated or minimized," he said in a post on X.

Without elaborating, he described the deadly attack as a "miscalculation.”

On Oct. 26, Israel carried out air strikes against military sites in Iran in response to Tehran's missile attack on Oct. 1.

At least four Iranian soldiers were killed in the attack which Iran said caused "limited damage" to a few radar systems. The Israeli military has warned Tehran against responding.

Netanyahu: Attack achieved Israel's objectives

Speaking on Oct. 27, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel's air attack on Iran was "precise and powerful" and achieved all its objectives.

"We promised we would respond to the Iranian attack and on Saturday [on Oct. 26] we struck. The attack in Iran was precise and powerful, achieving all of its objectives," Netanyahu said in a speech marking the Hebrew calendar anniversary of the Hamas attack on Oct. 7 last year.

U.S. President Joe Biden said he hoped "this is the end" after the Israeli strikes, noting that "it looks like they didn't hit anything other than military targets.”

Biden earlier urged Israel to spare nuclear and oil facilities in its retaliatory strikes and the International Atomic Energy Agency confirmed that no nuclear sites were hit.

Iranian officials and media have since downplayed the Israeli strikes, highlighting Iran's defensive capabilities but issued no vows of a direct response.

US involvement claims

Although the U.S. said that Washington was informed beforehand but there is no involvement in the Israeli strikes, Tehran accused it of playing a role in the attack.

“The Americans provided an air corridor for the Zionist air force and the defensive equipment they sent to them is considered a form of involvement in the recent operations,” Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in a televised interview on Oct. 27.

Israeli media also reported that the U.S. positioned a fleet of fighter jets on standby to rescue Israeli pilots if Tel Aviv's attack on Iran had gone badly.

"Israel and the U.S. coordinated a plan to ensure the safe extraction of pilots should the operation have not succeeded," said Israeli Army Radio on Sunday.

The report stressed that while the U.S. did not take part in the attack itself, a fleet from U.S. Central Command (AFCENT) was prepared to intervene if necessary.