Iran warns of ‘crushing response’ following Israeli airstrikes as Pentagon announces plans to bolster US presence in the Middle East

• Iran has vowed a “crushing response” following Israel’s late October airstrikes.
• Israel’s attack came in response to an Iranian missile barrage on October 1.
• It comes as the US announced plans to send more warships and B-52 bombers to the Middle East.

Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said there would be a “crushing response” following Israel’s airstrikes on the country last week.

Israel said it carried out “targeted and precise strikes” on Iranian military sites on October 26, almost four weeks after Iran launched around 180 ballistic missiles at Israel in retaliation to the killings of Hamas and Hezbollah leaders.

“The United States of America and the Zionist regime will definitely receive a crushing response for what they do against #Iran and the #Resistance Front,” a post on Khamenei’s X account on Saturday read.

Speaking at a press conference last week, a senior US official said that while the US was not a participant in the planning or execution of the Israeli operation, President Joe Biden and his national security team had encouraged Israel to respond to Iran in a “targeted and proportional” manner with “low risk of civilian harm.”

Meanwhile, the Pentagon announced on Friday that it planned to send additional ballistic missile defense destroyers, fighter squadron and tanker aircraft, and “several” US Air Force B-52 Stratofortress strategic bombers to the Middle East in the coming months.

Pentagon press secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said the moves were designed to help protect US civilians and forces in the region, defend Israel, and de-escalate “through deterrence and diplomacy.”

US Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a post on X on Saturday that B-52s from Minot Air Force Base’s 5th Bomb Wing had arrived in CENTCOM’s area of responsibility.

Khamenei’s comments have taken a more hostile tone from those he made in the immediate aftermath of the Israeli strikes in late October.

Khamenei said then that Iranian officials should decide how to respond to the attacks, adding that they “should neither be magnified nor downplayed.”

Experts had predicted that Iran may look “an off-ramp” or launch a small-scale retaliation following Israel’s strikes.