A confidant and senior adviser to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei warned on Wednesday that any American military action would prompt Iran to immediately strike “at the heart of Tel Aviv.”
“The limited strike is an illusion,” Ali Shamkhani, former secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, wrote in Hebrew. “Any military action by America, from any source and at any level, will be considered the beginning of a war, and the response will be immediate, comprehensive and unprecedented, directed at the aggressor, at the heart of Tel Aviv and at all its supporters.”
The Islamic Republic’s April 2024, October 2024 and June 2025 missile barrages caused heavy damage to homes and high-rises in Tel Aviv and the central region, killing and wounding dozens despite most projectiles being intercepted.
His threat against Israel comes as President Donald Trump warned Iran in a Truth Social post on Wednesday that “a massive armada” is making its way to the region and advised it to negotiate a settlement on its nuclear program as time was running out.
“A massive armada is heading to Iran. It is moving quickly, with great power, enthusiasm and purpose. It is a larger fleet, headed by the great aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln, than that sent to Venezuela. Like with Venezuela, it is ready, willing and able to rapidly fulfill its mission, with speed and violence, if necessary,” Trump posted.
“Hopefully Iran will quickly ‘come to the table’ and negotiate a fair and equitable deal—NO NUCLEAR WEAPONS—one that is good for all parties. Time is running out, it is truly of the essence,” he added.
Trump further warned Iran that if it didn’t make a deal, the next attack would be far worse than “Operation Midnight Hammer,” in which the United States dropped 12 GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP) bombs, also known as bunker busters, on the Fordow Uranium Enrichment Plant, and two on the Natanz Nuclear Facility, on June 22, 2025.
A submarine also fired 30 Tomahawk missiles at the Natanz and Isfahan Nuclear Technology Center nuclear sites.
Efforts by several Middle Eastern governments to avert a possible conflict have failed to bear fruit. Qatar, Oman, Saudi Arabia and Turkey have been unsuccessful in attempts to restart negotiations between the U.S. and Iran, The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday.
Iran maintains three principles in talks with the West which it has stuck to for two decades, the Journal reported: 1) not to agree to outcomes preordained by the U.S. 2) not to give up on uranium enrichment, and 3) not to agree to limits to its ballistic-missile program.
Iran’s foreign minister warned that Tehran’s armed forces stand ready to hit back at any U.S. attack, even as he signaled that the regime remains open to a new nuclear agreement that would bar it from building atomic weapons.
In an English-language post on X Wednesday, Abbas Araghchi said “our brave Armed Forces are prepared—with their fingers on the trigger—to immediately and powerfully respond to ANY aggression against our beloved land, air and sea.”
He said “the valuable lessons learned from the 12-Day War have enabled us to respond even more strongly, rapidly and profoundly,” referring to June’s brief but intense conflict that saw Iranian missiles and drones intercepted over Israel and the Gulf.
“At the same time, Iran has always welcomed a mutually beneficial, fair and equitable NUCLEAR DEAL—on equal footing, and free from coercion, threats and intimidation—which ensures Iran’s rights to PEACEFUL nuclear technology and guarantees NO NUCLEAR WEAPONS,” Araghchi wrote. “Such weapons have no place in our security calculations and we have NEVER sought to acquire them,” he added, echoing Tehran’s longstanding insistence that its nuclear program is solely for civilian purposes.
On Monday, the U.S. military’s Central Command said the USS Abraham Lincoln and its carrier strike group entered the Middle East region, which is under its responsibility, “to promote regional security and stability.”
Senior Israeli and Saudi officials are in Washington this week for talks with the Trump administration as the president weighs possible military strikes on Iran, Axios reported on Thursday.
Israeli military intelligence chief Maj. Gen. Shlomi Binder met with top U.S. defense and intelligence officials to share information on potential Iranian targets, while Saudi Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman was scheduled for meetings focused on de-escalating the situation.
Complicating U.S. efforts, Saudi Arabia said on Tuesday that it will not allow American forces to use its airspace or territory to launch an attack on Iran, echoing a similar stance by the United Arab Emirates on Monday.
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman conveyed his position in a call directly to Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued his own warning on Tuesday, saying, “If Iran makes the grave mistake of attacking Israel, we will respond with a force that Iran has yet to see.”
On Jan. 5, Trump warned the Islamic regime that if it starts killing protesters, it will be “hit very hard.”
The ayatollah-led regime has carried out a crackdown against mass protests that spread across the country starting in late December. International rights groups put the number of dead in the thousands, with some estimates as high as 30,000. An internet blackout imposed by the regime has made it difficult to corroborate the numbers.
According to Wednesday’s update from the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, 6,373 people have been killed in the uprising that began on Dec. 28, including 5,993 protesters, 113 children under the age of 18, 214 government-affiliated forces and 53 non-protesters/civilians.
A further 17,091 fatalities are under review and 11,018 have been severely injured. The regime has arrested 42,486 people during the protests.
Republished with permission from Jewish News Syndicate