• Source:JND
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Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has reportedly instructed the Iranian military to ‘prepare for war’ in light of escalating tensions with Israel. He stressed the importance of formulating strategies to respond to any Israeli aggression, with the specific Iranian actions hinging on the severity of the attacks from Israel.

Iran has stated it will retaliate if Israel targets its oil and energy infrastructure, and nuclear facilities, or assassinates senior officials. However, if Israel restricts its attacks to a limited number of military bases or warehouses holding missiles and drones, Iran may refrain from responding. 

Despite ordering its armed forces to prepare for war, Iran is also seeking to avoid conflict, particularly in light of the devastation faced by its allies in Lebanon and Gaza, according to four unnamed Iranian officials cited by The New York Times.

According to four Iranian officials cited by The New York Times, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has directed Iran's armed forces to develop various plans in anticipation of a possible retaliatory strike by Israel. 

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Iran Prepares For War While Seeking To Avoid Conflict

While Iran has ordered its military to prepare for war, it is also aiming to avoid conflict. The officials, including two from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, indicated that if Israel causes significant damage to critical sites like oil and nuclear facilities or targets high-ranking Iranian officials, Iran will likely escalate its response.

Israel had considered attacking Iranian oil infrastructure and nuclear sites, but the US opposes such actions due to the risk of escalating conflict. This could lead to Iranian reprisals targeting civilian infrastructure in Israel or other Western-aligned regional countries.

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IRGC chief Hossein Salami stated that despite the recent deployment of an advanced US missile defence system in Israel, it would be unable to prevent future attacks from Tehran.

“Just as the Arrow anti-missile systems did not work during Operation True Promise 2, the THAAD systems will not work either. Do not rely on THAAD, they have limited capabilities,” Russian state news agency TASS quoted Salami as saying.