Photo: Amir Pashaei, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. File photo of Tehran, not a photo of Saturday's meeting.
Iran's Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei ordered the country's armed forces on Saturday to answer any new American or Israeli attack with an immediate response without geographic limits, in his sharpest warning yet as mediators race to prevent a second round of the war between the United States and Iran.
The order came in a written message issued after Khamenei met senior military commanders, according to a statement posted on his website and reported by the Straits Times, Al Jazeera and the Jerusalem Post. Khamenei, who has not been publicly seen since he became supreme leader after his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was killed in US-Israeli strikes at the start of the war in February, told the commanders that "any level or type of threat must be met with an immediate, impactful, and geographically unrestricted response."
"If the enemies once again launch military or terrorist attacks, it is the armed forces of the Islamic Republic and the Iranian nation that will determine the time and conditions for ending them," the statement said. The meeting included armed forces chief of staff Ali Abdollahi, army chief Amir Hatami and Revolutionary Guards commander Ahmad Vahidi, according to the Straits Times.
What Khamenei ordered the military to do
Beyond the warning itself, Khamenei issued a set of practical directives. He ordered commanders to update Iran's target list so that "all types of tangible and intangible assets belonging to the American-Zionist enemy" are within reach of the armed forces, the Jerusalem Post and Haaretz reported, citing the statement. He also ordered the military to strengthen its intelligence capabilities, develop indigenous defence capabilities and increase production of ammunition and weapons for reconnaissance, support and combat operations.
He described "intelligent combat readiness for a powerful confrontation with enemies" as a fundamental prerequisite for achieving maximum deterrence, according to IRNA and Mehr News Agency, which published the message. Commanders briefed him on military readiness along the Persian Gulf coast, in the Strait of Hormuz and the Gulf of Oman, and along the country's northwestern and southeastern borders, Daily Sabah reported.
The language matters because it goes further than a general threat of retaliation. By saying any response would be geographically unrestricted, and by tying it to an updated target list covering American and Israeli assets, Khamenei was signalling that a renewed attack would not be answered only at the point of impact — a message aimed as much at Washington and Jerusalem as at his own military.
Warnings from the army and the foreign minister
The supreme leader's message was reinforced on Saturday by other Iranian officials. Army spokesman Mohammad Akraminia warned that if the US president "once again embarks on more regional adventurism," the flames of war would "undoubtedly engulf a much wider geographical area," the Straits Times reported, citing his post on X. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi also warned on Saturday that "Iran's Powerful Armed Forces will deal against those who dare harm our people."
The warnings landed on a day when tensions were already running high. Iranian officials reported on Saturday morning that two fishing boats near Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz had been attacked, leaving two fishermen missing — a claim Washington had not confirmed. Qatari mediators, who spent more than 12 hours in Tehran on Friday, were due to continue talks in Doha on Saturday, trying to revive direct negotiations between Washington and Tehran.
Why the timing matters
The statement comes days before the US midterm elections on Tuesday, November 3, and amid conflicting signals about what happens after them. Axios reported on Friday that President Donald Trump may be more inclined to approve a large-scale military operation against Iran if Republicans fare badly in the midterms — a report the White House denied, saying election results would not factor into his decisions. Haaretz, citing an MS NOW report, said Washington was preparing to resume strikes as soon as November 4, the day after the vote. Trump has previously said the US will not launch a new attack before the elections.
The two sides also remain divided on the terms of any deal. Washington wants nuclear concessions before returning to negotiations, while Tehran insists the US first lift its naval blockade, release frozen funds and allow oil sales. Qatar is pressing Iran to let UN inspectors into its bombed nuclear sites in exchange for limited sanctions relief.
For now, Khamenei's message does not mean a new attack has happened or that one is imminent. It is a deterrent threat, issued in public, at a moment when both sides are weighing whether diplomacy or force comes next. But its wording — immediate, impactful, without geographic restriction — raises the stakes of any miscalculation in the days around the midterms, when a single incident at sea or in the air could be read in Tehran as the trigger he described.
Sources: Al Jazeera; Straits Times; Jerusalem Post; Haaretz; Daily Sabah; IRNA.