Iran’s supreme leader warns of 'geographically unrestricted response' if US attacks again

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei has issued a warning to the world that “any level or type of threat must be met with an immediate, impactful, and geographically unrestricted response."

Khamenei's threat 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, as Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Sunday that Tehran hopes "that there is rationality on the other side to prefer diplomacy to other paths," as "drawing on the experiences of the past two wars, we are much stronger than before."

The supreme leader 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.

It follows warnings from the US 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" means Iran could look to target Europe as well as Turkey and the South Caucasus in response to a renewed attack.

The description of “any level or type of threat” could indicate that Iran may act pre-eemptively, before a US-Israeli military strike.

State media said that Khamenei - who hasn’t 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, to include “all kinds of physical and non-physical assets."