Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi cautioned UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres that Tehran is poised to launch a “decisive and regretful” retaliation if Israel strikes in response to the barrage of nearly 200 ballistic missiles fired at Israel on October 1.

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant stated last week that Israel “will soon respond” to the missile assault, assuring that the response would be “precise and deadly.”

On Wednesday, Behrouz Kamalvandi, spokesperson for Iran’s atomic energy agency, downplayed the likelihood of an Israeli attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities, but added that any damage caused would be “quickly compensated,” according to the Nournews agency.

“Iran, while making all-out efforts to protect the peace and security of the region, is fully prepared for a decisive and regretful response to any adventures” by Israel, Iran’s foreign minister conveyed in a call with Guterres, as per a statement from his office on Wednesday.

In the conversation held Tuesday evening, Araghchi also urged the United Nations to leverage its influence to “stop the crimes and aggressions of the Israeli regime and to send humanitarian aid to Lebanon and Gaza.”

Additionally, Iran’s chief diplomat held a phone discussion with his French counterpart, Jean-Noel Barrot, on Tuesday, according to a statement from his office.

During the call, Araghchi emphasized the necessity of halting Israeli strikes on Lebanon, cautioned against any “new adventures,” and called for the removal of Israeli “obstacles” that were hindering the delivery of aid to displaced individuals.

This followed a prior phone call on Sunday between the presidents of the two nations, Emmanuel Macron and Masoud Pezeshkian.

Over the last week, Araghchi has traveled to Lebanon, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Iraq, and Oman in a diplomatic push to de-escalate tensions in the region.

On Wednesday, Araghchi arrived in Jordan before continuing to Egypt and Turkey, according to a post by Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei on the social media platform X.

Reports from Tuesday indicate that Israel has already selected potential targets within Iran.

According to Channel 12 news, Israel’s military has presented Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Gallant with a list of targets, as part of the final preparations for a strike. These preparations include “sensitive coordination” with other regional nations.

A separate report from Kan, Israel’s public broadcaster, indicated that “the political echelon” had finalized the target list, although it did not specify which officials or decision-making bodies were involved.

“The targets are clear. Now it’s a matter of time,” an Israeli source told the broadcaster.

The report also noted that while Israel has briefed the US on its overall attack strategy, it has not yet shared details about specific targets. A source familiar with the discussions acknowledged that “the targets could also change at the 11th hour.”

The United States has been attempting to curb Israel’s plans for retaliation in response to the October 1 missile strike, which sent much of Israel scrambling to bomb shelters and led to the death of a Palestinian man in the West Bank. The missile attack caused damage across parts of Israel, including at military airbases, though the Israel Defense Forces reported that no aircraft or critical infrastructure were hit, and that the Israeli Air Force remains fully operational. JNS

{Matzav.com Israel}