Supreme Leader Threatens Unrestricted Global Response to Future US‑Israeli Attacks

By Peter Barabas & Euronews Doha bureau

Published on 1 November 2026 – 13:10 GMT+1

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei warned that any level or type of threat must be met with an immediate, impactful, and geographically unrestricted response.

It comes as urgent diplomatic efforts continue to avoid a new all‑out Iran war, which would have devastating consequences for the Middle East and beyond.

Khamenei met with Iran’s top military commanders on Saturday, presenting them with directives to prepare for potential new US‑Israeli military action, according to the official IRNA news agency.

The warning follows US statements that its forces could conduct a short but intensive military campaign against Iran after the US midterm elections next week.

The threat of a “geographically unrestricted response” indicates that Iran could target Europe as well as the South Caucasus in retaliation for a renewed attack.

State media reported that Khamenei—who has not been seen publicly since the Iran war began with US and Israeli strikes in late February—also called for an updated list of potential US and Israeli targets, encompassing “all kinds of physical and non‑physical assets.”

Khamenei added that Iran would decide the duration of any new conflict.

“Should Iran’s enemies resume military or terrorist attacks, it will be the Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic and the Iranian nation that will determine when and under what conditions those attacks will end,” he said.

Iranian state media said a meeting on Saturday with the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Major General Ahmad Vahidi, together with the Iranian army commander and his chief of staff, briefed the supreme leader on Iran’s military readiness. The commanders informed Khamenei that Iran’s weapons production has increased “seven‑fold.”

The Institute for the Study of War (ISW), a Washington‑based think tank, described Khamenei’s threats as “likely part of an Iranian effort to deter the United States and Israel from striking Iran.”

Even as Tehran continues to issue threats and defiant rhetoric, its foreign minister and security chief have signalled positive steps in mediated negotiations with the US via Qatar.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi announced on Saturday evening that Tehran could agree to reopen the Strait of Hormuz in just two days, rather than the previously suggested seven‑day timeline.

He said Iranian diplomats were in Qatar for talks after a Qatari delegation mediated discussions in Tehran over recent days.

Araghchi had previously proposed reopening the Strait of Hormuz within a week if the US lifted its blockade of Iranian ports, released frozen Iranian assets, waived sanctions on Iranian oil sales, and met other conditions. That proposal was rejected.

In an interview with Qatar‑based broadcaster Al Jazeera, Araghchi said Iran was not planning to meet with US officials but viewed recent US overtures toward “broader dialogue” as a positive step.

He added that a decision on whether negotiations would be direct or indirect would be made “once Washington agrees to Iran’s conditions.”

These developments follow a letter from US Vice President JD Vance proposing negotiations, according to Major General Mohsen Rezaei, head of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council.

Rezaei commented that “the tone has completely changed” and called the letter a “very good sign.” Araghchi echoed this, describing Washington’s attempt to open dialogue as a “positive step.”

Rezaei highlighted a revised Iranian condition: ships passing through a reopened Strait of Hormuz would follow a route agreed upon by Iran and Oman, with “everyone passing through this waterway doing so under Iranian management.”

He said Iran was awaiting the latest US response. Separately, Rezaei warned on X that any attack would bring “devastating blows on the aggressor using new weapons.”

Rezaei, who state media reported had met with Iran’s supreme leader last week, also stated that there has been no decision to change Iran’s nuclear doctrine, though he noted that some Iranians have questioned whether it should be reconsidered if Iran is attacked again.

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