Iran hardliners extend threats to US interests after Israeli attack

Some Iranian hardliners have warned that US interests could be targeted by Islamic Republic forces if Israel continues its strikes on Iran, asserting that Iran should view "interests, resources, and military personnel" as legitimate targets.

Foad Izadi, a hardline commentator often featured on Iranian state TV as an expert on the United States, stated in an interview with the conservative Nameh News website: “Attacks will not stop unless the United States realizes that strikes on Iran could be costly.”

Izadi added, “It is up to us to decide how we want to confront [Israel and the United States].” He continued, “The Americans, as Iran’s staunch adversaries, operate without ethical limitations. But if they sense that Israel’s attacks on Iran will come at a high cost to the US, these strikes will cease.”

Speaking a day after Israel’s strikes on military targets across Iran—from the capital Tehran to Shiraz in the south, Ahvaz, Mahshahr, and Ilam in the southwest, and Shahroud in the northeast, among other locations—Izadi remarked, “Whatever was done, Israel and the United States did it together, though the United States has declined to take responsibility for the attacks.”

He argued that if the United States did not want an escalation, it could refrain from sending weapons and equipment to Israel. He said, "no one should believe Washington's claims about trying to stop the war in the region."

Meanwhile, Hossein Shariatmadari, editor of the hardline *Kayhan* daily, closely linked to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s office, wrote a pointed commentary after the Israeli strikes, warning, "We saw how you rained [missiles] on us. Now prepare for our flood."

Shariatmadari underscored what he called “undeniable evidence” proving that it is, in fact, the United States standing as Iran’s true adversary. He issued a stark warning to "Israel and its American, European, and regional supporters," promising that Iran’s response would be “far heavier and more severe than they can imagine."

In his commentary, Shariatmadari labeled Israel as “a mere front for the United States” and described it as "the U.S. garrison in the region." Further implicating Washington, he speculated, "Do you really think the fighter jets that launched missile attacks on Iran Saturday morning weren’t American-made? Or that their pilots weren’t American?"

Shariatmadari concluded by asserting that in any response to Israel, Iran would treat U.S. interests, assets, and military personnel as legitimate targets.

In a separate development, Majles Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf vowed that "Iran will certainly respond to the Zionist regime’s aggression." Meanwhile, Khamenei’s senior political adviser, Ali Akbar Velayati, dismissed Israel’s attack as “much ado about nothing,” asserting that Iran has never initiated a war, is a recognized international power, and that Israel is too insignificant to challenge it.

However, Iranian journalist Amir Soltanzadeh countered Velayati's claims, noting that it was Iran who first initiated hostilities with Israel and that Iran’s isolation prevents it from claiming true international power status.

However, long-time establishment insider Mohammad Javad Larijani acknowledged, "This is not a small matter. Our country has been invaded. Although it was a cowardly attack, it remains an act of aggression against Iran."

Although military commanders seem to have been restricted from commenting on the incident, the IRGC-affiliated daily Javan downplayed the strikes’ significance, claiming that Iran’s anti-aircraft defenses largely thwarted the attack. Like most other Iranian media, Javan characterized the strike as “weak and limited,” adding that “Iran reserves the right to respond”—a measure that would likely be welcomed by those on both sides seeking to test Israel’s new THAAD air defense system.

In one of the rare comments from Iranian military experts, Amir Mousavi claimed that Iran had foreknowledge of the attack by hacking Israeli military documents, disputing reports that other countries had informed Iran. This contrasts with international media reports and statements from the Dutch Foreign Ministry and Russian officials, who reportedly notified Iran about the attack approximately four hours before it occurred.

The government-owned Iranian Students News Agency (ISNA) labeled the attack as "The big folly of a small regime," warning that Israel and its allies would face repercussions for this "limited" strike.