Iran leader says Israeli attack should not be 'exaggerated or downplayed'

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei refrained from pledging immediate retaliation while President Masoud Pezeshkian said Tehran did not seek war.

British Broadcasting CorporationWatchHomeNewsUS ElectionSportBusinessInnovationCultureArtsTravelEarthVideoLiveHomeNewsIsrael-Gaza WarWar in UkraineUS & CanadaUKUK PoliticsEnglandN. IrelandN. Ireland PoliticsScotlandScotland PoliticsWalesWales PoliticsAfricaAsiaChinaIndiaAustraliaEuropeLatin AmericaMiddle EastIn PicturesBBC InDepthBBC VerifyUS ElectionElection pollsKamala HarrisDonald TrumpJD VanceTim WalzSportBusinessExecutive LoungeTechnology of BusinessWomen at the HelmFuture of BusinessInnovationTechnologyScience & HealthArtificial IntelligenceAI v the MindCultureFilm & TVMusicArt & DesignStyleBooksEntertainment NewsArtsArts in MotionTravelDestinationsAfricaAntarcticaAsiaAustralia and PacificCaribbean & BermudaCentral AmericaEuropeMiddle EastNorth AmericaSouth AmericaWorld’s TableCulture & ExperiencesAdventuresThe SpeciaListEarthNatural WondersWeather & ScienceClimate SolutionsSustainable BusinessGreen LivingVideoLiveLive NewsLive SportHomeNewsUS ElectionSportBusinessInnovationCultureArtsTravelEarthVideoLiveAudioWeatherNewslettersIran leader says Israeli attack should not be 'exaggerated or downplayed'ReutersIran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has given a measured response to Israeli strikes on the country, saying the attack should not be "exaggerated or downplayed" while refraining from pledging immediate retaliation.

President Masoud Pezeshkian said Iran would "give an appropriate response" to the attack, which killed at least four soldiers, adding that Tehran did not seek war.

Israel said it targeted military sites in several regions of Iran on Saturday in retaliation for Iranian attacks, including a barrage of almost 200 ballistic missiles fired towards Israel on 1 October.

On Sunday Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel had crippled Iranian air defence and missile production systems. He said the strikes had "severely damaged Iran’s defence capability and its ability to produce missiles".

"The attack was precise and powerful and achieved its goals," Netanyahu said at a ceremony commemorating the victims of last year's 7 October attacks by Hamas.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ced99eznje9o

---