Iran Vows Retaliation If U.S. or Israel Strike, Amid Rising Tensions Over Houthi Attacks
Tehran Iran has issued a stark warning: any military aggression by the United States or Israel will be met with forceful retaliation, with Iranian missiles potentially targeting U.S. and Israeli assets “wherever they may be.” The bold declaration came Sunday from Iran’s Defence Minister, General Aziz Nasirzadeh, during a televised address on state media.
The remarks followed heightened tensions sparked by a missile fired by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels that landed alarmingly close to Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport a key international gateway just outside Tel Aviv.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, pointing fingers directly at Tehran, vowed a response not just against the Houthis, but also against what he labeled “their Iranian terror masters.”
“Attacks by the Houthis emanate from Iran,” Netanyahu wrote on social platform X. “Israel will respond to the Houthi attack against our main airport AND, at a time and place of our choosing, to their Iranian terror masters.”
General Nasirzadeh, however, dismissed those accusations, echoing Tehran’s long-standing position that the Houthis operate independently and are not under direct Iranian command.
Still, Iran’s rhetoric has taken on a sharper edge in recent weeks. “If this war is initiated by the U.S. or the Zionist regime,” Nasirzadeh warned, “Iran will target their interests, bases, and forces wherever they may be and whenever deemed necessary.”
The timing of the statement was significant. On the same day, Iran unveiled a new solid-fuel ballistic missile, the Qassem Bassir, boasting a range of 1,200 kilometers (750 miles) easily capable of reaching U.S. military installations across the Middle East and Israeli territory.
While Iran insisted it harbors “no hostility toward neighboring countries,” Nasirzadeh made it clear that U.S. bases in the region would not be spared if conflict breaks out.
The warning also comes as President Donald Trump, in his second term, continues authorizing strikes against Houthi targets in Yemen. Washington has maintained that Iran bears ultimate responsibility for attacks carried out by its proxy forces, a charge Tehran has repeatedly denied.
As the war in Gaza grinds on and regional actors become increasingly entangled, Sunday’s exchange of threats underscores the volatile state of Middle Eastern geopolitics a powder keg that appears dangerously close to ignition.
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Iran Vows Retaliation If U.S. or Israel Strike, Amid Rising Tensions Over Houthi Attacks