Khamenei urges response to Israeli strikes

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei on Sunday said Israel miscalculated when it attacked Iran with airstrikes over the weekend. Israel did not understand the power of the Iranian people and Iran must make Israel understand that power, Khamenei said. The ayatollah said that officials in Tehran should analyze the situation and decide on the best way to respond to the attack.

Has Tehran taken any such steps yet? The Iranian state-run Islamic Republic News Agency on Monday reported that Tehran was asking the United Nations Security Council to convene to discuss the situation. The Iranian government claimed Israel’s attack violated the UN Charter, IRNA reported. The Israeli military, shortly after wrapping up the strikes in Iran late on Friday, promised to attack again if Iran struck back.

Has the Iranian government confirmed any details about the attack? Khamenei did not address the specific details of Israel’s attack on Iran in his statement Sunday. He accused Israel of exaggerating the magnitude of the attack, but also asked his followers to avoid downplaying its significance. The Israeli military claimed its strikes on Iranian military targets were targeted and precise.

The Institute for the Study of War on Sunday reported that Israel’s strike crippled several major missile defense systems in various locations of Iran. Israel also destroyed key machinery at a missile manufacturing facility in Iran—one of its most expansive and secretive missile manufacturing facilities, according to the ISW. It will likely take Tehran anywhere from a few months to more than a year to rebuild that machinery, the ISW said.

Dig deeper: Read my report in The Sift about how U.S. officials were investigating the leak of classified documents detailing plans for an upcoming Israeli strike on Iran days before Friday’s attack took place.