Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian called on parliament on Tuesday to increase the defense budget due to “regional developments.”
Former Revolutionary Guards commander Mohammad Ali Jafari predicted that Israel might launch a “small and limited” attack but warned that any Israeli mistake would trigger a “crushing” response from Iran.
Jafari told a Revolutionary Guards’ news agency that Iran’s reaction would depend on the scale of Israel’s actions.
“If Israel takes significant steps, it will face double the retaliation,” he said.
Israel is expected to respond strongly to an Iranian missile strike on Oct. 1.
Jafari, now in charge of social and cultural affairs, dismissed Israel as too small to pose a real threat to Iran.
He said any Israeli attack would be “limited and desperate,” and added that Israel would not be able to match Iran’s recent missile strike, which came in response to the killing of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh.
Jafari said that Iran’s stance “was announced earlier and is part of plans to deal with attacks and conflicts.”
He assured Iranians, saying: “The enemy won’t make any major move, and if they do, it will be a desperate effort.”
Jafari made the remarks during a memorial for senior commander Abbas Nilforoushan, who was killed in an airstrike on Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah’s headquarters on Sep. 27.
Tasnim news agency reported that the event was attended by Quds Force commander Esmail Qaani, his deputy Abdolreza Meskarian, and other top officials from the Revolutionary Guards and the Joint Operations Command.
Mohammad Reza Naqdi, the Revolutionary Guards’ general coordinator, said: “We are eager to open the way for jihad so that young people can join the frontlines against Israel.”
He added that while Iranian youth are ready to fight, the resistance front has not yet called for their deployment.
