Iran's supreme leader warns US, Israel against renewed attacks

Tehran — Iran's Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei has warned the United States and Israel against a return to war, ordering his armed forces to prepare an immediate response "without geographical restriction" if the country is attacked again, according to a statement from his office.

The warning came as Qatari diplomats held extensive talks in Tehran on Friday, with further meetings expected on Saturday, in a push to prevent a new outbreak of fighting after eight months of war, Al Jazeera reported.

Khamenei, who has not been seen or heard from publicly since replacing his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, killed in US-Israeli strikes at the start of the war in February, reportedly met senior military commanders on Saturday and gave them what his office called "important strategic directives". The Hindu, citing the statement posted on his website, said he ordered that "any level or type of threat must be met with an immediate, impactful and geographically unrestricted response", and told commanders to update Iran's target list to include "all types of tangible and intangible assets belonging to the American-Zionist enemy".

"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. It was the first reported meeting between Khamenei and the top brass, including armed forces chief of staff Ali Abdollahi, army chief Amir Hatami and Revolutionary Guards commander Ahmad Vahidi.

The statement came days after US Vice President JD Vance wrote to Tehran, in a letter reportedly addressed to security chief Mohsen Rezaei. Exact details are unclear, but Vance is believed to have sought nuclear commitments, including monitoring by international inspectors and a decision on Iran's highly enriched uranium, which Tehran has said will not be shipped abroad. US President Donald Trump denied ordering renewed peace talks, claiming without elaborating that the letter concerned allowing medical supplies into Iran. Iranian media confirmed the letter was received but said no official response had yet been given.

According to Iranian media, Tehran's proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz within several days, in exchange for a return to the June memorandum of understanding, remains the baseline for the negotiations. Its demands include lifting a US maritime blockade on Iranian ports, waivers on oil sanctions and a truce in regional conflicts, including in southern Lebanon.

Iran's army spokesman Mohammad Akraminia warned that if Washington returned to what he called adventurism, "the fire of war will undoubtedly engulf a wider geography". For now, the Qatari-mediated talks continue, and Tehran's newspapers and its public are waiting to see whether the diplomacy outruns the threats, with US midterm elections on November 3 seen in Iran as a possible trigger point.