Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi asserted that the Islamic Republic will respond to an October 26 series of airstrikes by Israel but said the retaliation will be calculated and executed under the right circumstances.
Araghchi was speaking with the Tehran-affiliated Al-Mayadeen television as Iran was censured at the meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency for its lack of cooperation with the UN nuclear watchdog.
The foreign minister asserted that “Israel is well aware that the Islamic Republic poses the most significant threat to its regime.” Clearly linking Tehran and its proxies, he added, “The Resistance is not merely an organizational structure or an institution comprised of leaders and fighters; it is an ideology and a school of thought with broad social foundations.”
The Islamic government in Iran has yet to conduct a military response to Israel’s October 26 airstrikes on its air defenses and military installations. The attack marked the latest in a series of tit-for-tat exchanges between the two arch-enemies in the Middle East, following over a year of conflict between Israel and Iranian proxies; Hamas, Hezbollah, Yemeni Houthis and a variety of militia groups in Syria and Iraq.
Araghchi further emphasized that the Hamas movement remains steadfast, and that halting the war would represent a major defeat for the Zionist regime, which is why it opposes all ceasefire proposals. He added, "I have no doubt that the end of this battle will be a victory for the Resistance."
On Friday, chief commander of the Revolutionary Guard, Hossein Salami warned that the continuation of regional conflict can only result in Israel’s destruction.
Speaking at the venue of large drills by the IRGC’s Basij forces in southwestern Iran, Salami said, “Israeli officials are unsettled and demoralized, their army is exhausted, while, in contrast, Hezbollah and the resistance front have been energized.”
Salami is notorious for frequently issuing threats and declaring victories, a tactic some observers believe is intended to bolster morale among the government’s military and security ranks. Since September, Iran and its allies have suffered significant setbacks from Israel, which has launched an offensive against Hezbollah in Lebanon and carried out a series of targeted assassinations of key leaders.
Salami reassured supporters in his speech that Israel’s destruction is a certainty and stressed that Iran’s allies remain strong, facing a weakened Israel.
At the same time, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sharply criticized the International Criminal Court for issuing his arrest warrant, calling it an antisemitic act.
“No outrageous anti-Israel decision will prevent us — and it will not prevent me — from continuing to defend our country in every way,” Netanyahu said, referring to the Islamic Republic in a video statement. “We will not yield to pressure,” he declared.
Iran condemned the move and ordered the activation of advanced centrifuges in response.
The resolution, backed by Western nations including France, Germany, and the United Kingdom (E3), follows months of heightened tensions over Iran’s uranium enrichment.
It cites ongoing violations of a 2015 international deal called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), with Tehran now holding a stockpile of enriched uranium more than 32 times the limit under the agreement.
Nineteen countries voted in favor and three - China, Russia and Burkina Faso - against, with 12 abstaining during the quarterly meeting of the Board of Governors.
Iran bashed the resolution, saying it lacked the support of nearly half of the IAEA's member states and was pushed through by the United States and the three European sponsors to advance their political agendas.
Referring to a recent visit to Tehran by IAEA chief Rafael Grossi, Iran's foreign ministry said on X: "This politicized, unrealistic, and destructive approach undermines the positive atmosphere created and the understandings that have resulted from it."
The statement added that Iran was activating advanced centrifuges in retaliation but that the country's nuclear program would remain peaceful.
The resolution follows a similar IAEA rebuke in June calling on Iran to step up cooperation with the watchdog and reverse its recent barring of inspectors despite concerns Tehran would respond by boosting its activities.
E3 flags nuclear escalation
In a joint statement delivered to the IAEA board, France, Germany, and the UK expressed alarm over Iran’s stockpile of uranium enriched to 60%, a level well beyond civilian use and close to weapons-grade.
“Iran now has well over four IAEA significant quantities of uranium enriched up to 60%, the approximate amount of nuclear material from which the possibility of manufacturing a nuclear explosive device cannot be excluded,” The E3 said.
The statement said that over the past five months, Iran had installed six additional cascades of advanced centrifuges at its Natanz facility, significantly increasing its enrichment capacity.
It also criticized Iran’s continued restrictions on IAEA inspectors, including the de-designation, or revocation of accreditation, of experienced personnel which has impeded the Agency’s ability to verify Tehran’s claims of peaceful intentions.
Iran responds with warnings
Iranian officials had previously dismissed the resolution, accusing the E3 and their allies of undermining recent diplomatic efforts. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told his French counterpart on Wednesday that the move complicates matters and contradicted the "positive atmosphere created between Iran and the IAEA.”
Tehran had recently proposed halting its enrichment of uranium to 60% but only after accumulating a stockpile of 185 kilograms. While this offer was mentioned in Grossi’s latest report, Western diplomats dismissed it as insufficient, noting that the material could easily be further enriched for weapons purposes.
Iran has maintained that its nuclear program is solely for peaceful purposes, a claim met with skepticism by Western powers citing Iran’s lack of transparency and history of non-compliance.
Long-running disputes
The IAEA resolution also addressed unresolved issues, including the presence of unexplained uranium traces at undeclared sites and limited access for inspectors to critical facilities. Grossi’s recent trip to Tehran aimed to persuade Iranian leaders to improve cooperation and return to broader negotiations.
The resolution is seen as a step toward potentially referring Iran’s nuclear dossier back to the UN Security Council, where Western nations could trigger a so -called snapback mechanism to reinstate international sanctions lifted under the JCPOA.