Iran prepares for Israeli attacks as Supreme Leader calls on West to leave Middle East | Iran

Iran is bracing for likely Israeli attacks on its nuclear facilities as its supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has called on the West to leave the Middle East.

Khamenei met students and academics on Wednesday in his first public appearance since ordering a high-risk rocket attack on Israel in response to Israel’s attacks on the leadership of Hezbollah, the armed group that Tehran has funded in Lebanon.

Iran, he said, was still mourning the killing of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah last Friday, but added: “Grief does not mean being depressed and sitting in a corner.”

Iran’s attack appeared to mobilize the country’s previously divided political elite, as the leadership justified the attack on Israel by saying it was effective, lawful and unavoidable to restore deterrence and Iran’s sovereignty.

Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi held a series of diplomatic talks, including with European foreign ministers, and stressed that Iran was not seeking escalation. Unlike the Israeli attacks in Lebanon, Iran’s goals were entirely military and not civilian, he claimed.

Asked on Wednesday whether Iran had directly warned the US about the attacks, he said: “No, I don’t confirm anything like that. But we had an exchange of messages through the Swiss embassy in Tehran and conveyed the necessary warnings to the US.” He said this message was sent after Iran fired the missiles at Israel.

Switzerland has long acted as the US diplomatic mediator in Tehran.

The purpose of Araghchi’s calls was, among other things, to make clear the limits of the Iranian operation and to urge the United States and Europe to insist that Israel exercise restraint in its response.

He added: “I expect that in the coming days we will gradually see a return to some form of stability in the region.”

Iranian Defense Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh also called on Europe to contain Israel. “Otherwise, they will face Iran’s response and the region will descend into a major war,” he said.

At a U.N. Security Council meeting in New York later on Wednesday, Iran is expected to defend its actions in line with the U.N. charter.

Major General Mohammad Bagheri, the chief of Iran’s Armed Forces General Staff, said the missiles hit Israeli air bases, including the Nevatim base, where F35 aircraft are based, as well as the Mossad headquarters.

Images of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Council (IRGC) leadership watching the attack on television monitors showed them shouting “beautiful” as the rockets hit the ground and exploded.

On Israel’s likely response, Mohammad Baqir Qalibaf, Speaker of Parliament, said: “We have prepared for Israel’s possible madness and have drawn up an unexpected plan, and our next response to possible aggression will be on a completely different level.”

But observers said there was also a sense of foreboding. Iran knows that its air defense systems, largely provided by Russia, are rudimentary and that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has made changing the balance of power in the Middle East an explicit war aim, which many see as code for weakening Iran’s nuclear program.

The regime is wary of dissent and will monitor citizens’ reactions. The oil ministry said there were no plans to raise gasoline prices, one of the most sensitive issues in a country plagued by inflation and sanctions.

The IRGC urged citizens to report any pro-Israel statements on social media. All internal and external commercial flights through Iranian airspace have been canceled.

One of Iran’s most important nuclear sites is Fordow near the city of Qom, a uranium enrichment facility deep underground. An Israeli attack on the area would hasten the resurgence of a debate in Iran over whether the country needs a nuclear weapon, and not just the enriched uranium needed for such a bomb.

However, Javad Zarif, the government’s strategic minister and probably one of those in the leadership least supportive of the military response, clearly supported the attacks.

“Western hypocrisy is not only outrageous but extremely dangerous. Western states have aided and abetted the Israeli genocide in Gaza and condoned Israeli aggression against Iran, Palestine, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen and other countries in the region.

“Iran has an inherent right to self-defense against repeated Israeli armed attacks on Iranian territory and its citizens. Israel and its allies alone are responsible for any consequences of Israel’s continued provocations and escalations,” he said.