Iran's Khamenei orders military to answer any new attack without geographic limits
Editorial illustration — Press Pass USAIran's Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei has ordered the country's armed forces to meet any new attack with an immediate response without geographic limits, and to expand their target lists to bring American and Israeli assets within reach.
"Any level or type of threat must be met with an immediate, impactful, and geographically unrestricted response," Khamenei said Saturday in a statement posted on his official Telegram account, according to Reuters. He also said that if Iran's enemies renewed military or terrorist attacks, it would be Iran's armed forces and people who determine when and on what terms the fighting ends.
The statement followed a meeting with Iran's top military commanders, including the heads of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the Army and the General Staff of the Armed Forces. It was the first time Khamenei is known to have convened his top commanders as head of state since he succeeded his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in the U.S.-Israeli strikes that opened the war in February.
Khamenei ordered commanders to update Iran's military target lists to include "all types of tangible and intangible assets" belonging to the United States and Israel, and to strengthen military intelligence, defensive capabilities and combat readiness, which he described as a prerequisite for what he called maximum deterrence. He said senior commanders had reported high readiness along the Gulf coast, around the Strait of Hormuz and the Gulf of Oman, and on Iran's northwestern and southeastern borders.
The directive comes as diplomats race to prevent a resumption of fighting. Qatari mediators held talks with Iranian officials on Saturday aimed at averting new strikes, Reuters reported, while the United States has warned Gulf countries to prepare for renewed strikes against Iran after Tuesday's midterm elections, according to a Wall Street Journal report cited in coverage of the statement. As of early Sunday, no new strikes had been reported.
Khamenei has not appeared in public since succeeding his father, and only a handful of Iranian officials have said they have spoken to him since. The Revolutionary Guards circulated a threat video after the statement, underscoring the message of a response with no geographic limitation, according to reports of the clip.
Sources: Reuters (Oct 31, 2026); The Edge Markets (Oct 31, 2026); The Daily Star / TBS News (Oct 31, 2026).
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