Iran ready to respond to any new attack, supreme leader says

In this photo released by the official website of the office of the Iranian supreme leader, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei speaks to a group of people and officials in Tehran, Iran, Friday, March 21, 2025. (Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader via AP)

Iran is ready to respond to any renewed military attack, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Wednesday, adding that Tehran was capable of delivering a bigger blow to adversaries than the one it gave during the 12-day Iran-Israel war.

“The fact that our nation is ready to face the power of the United States and its dog on a leash, the Zionist regime (Israel), is very praiseworthy,” Khamenei said in comments carried by state TV.

Israel and the U.S. launched strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities last month, saying that they were part of a program geared towards developing nuclear weapons. Tehran maintains that its nuclear program is purely for civilian purposes.

“The base attacked by Iran was an extremely sensitive American regional base,” Khamenei said in reference to an Iranian missile barrage on Al Udeid base in Qatar, adding “an even bigger blow could be inflicted on the U.S. and others.”

Iran is under pressure to resume nuclear talks with the U.S. as Washington and three major European countries have agreed to set the end of August as the deadline for a deal.

If no progress is reached by then, France’s foreign minister warned international sanctions would be reapplied via the United Nations snapback mechanism.

“In both the diplomatic and military fields, whenever we enter the stage we do so with our hands full and not from a position of weakness,” Khamenei said.

He urged diplomats to heed “guidelines” and vigorously continue their work, without elaborating.

Iran’s parliament shared a statement on Wednesday saying the country should not resume nuclear talks with the U.S. as long as preconditions are unmet.

(Reporting by Parisa Hafezi, Dubai newsroom; Editing by Alex Richardson and Andrew Cawthorne)