If USA strikes Iran, the response will be 'beyond imagination'

If the United States strikes Iran and its associated infrastructure, Tehran's response will be "beyond all imagination,” Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Mohammad Hassan Sheikholeslami told reporters on the sidelines of a high-level conference on Eurasian security in Minsk (Belarus), The Vedomosti newspaper said.

"All countries should take necessary measures [to protect the Palestinians and residents of the Gaza Strip]. This is not the first time the United States is threatening us [with strikes], we are accustomed to daily threats. But in any case, if this happens, if they make this mistake, the Iranian response will be beyond all imagination,” Sheikholeslami said.

According to him, Iran "has been defending the rights of the Palestinians for 30 years and will continue to do so.”

"The Syrians can defend their country themselves, but if they ask for help, Iran will support them,” the Iranian deputy foreign minister added.

"The situation is catastrophic, it must be stopped. Now we are doing everything in our power to prevent the conflict from spreading, together with Iraq and others,” Sheikholeslami emphasized.

On October 7, the Gaza-based Palestinian group Hamas launched a massive attack on Israel. In response, the IDF kicked off Operation Swords of Iron. The Israeli military regularly carry out strikes on the Gaza Strip to this day. The Israeli government announced that the country entered a state of war.

On October 16, first deputy head of Iran's parliamentary commission on national security and foreign policy, Ebrahim Azizi, said that "new battle fronts” may appear against Israel should the latter invades the Gaza Strip, country. According to him, this is a "red line” for Iran. A war on several fronts may cause Israel to collapse as a state, Azizi added.

Israeli Minister of Economy and Industry Neil Barkat threatened to strike Iran should the Iran-backed Hezbollah group open a "second front against Israel.

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian said on October 23 that the United States asked the republic not to interfere in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.