Iran Vows Swift Retaliation Against U.S. And Israel If Attacked

A man walks past a banner depicting missiles launching from a representation of the map of Iran coloured with the Iranian flag in central Tehran on April 15, 2024.

Iranian Defense Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh threatened to retaliate should the United States or Israel attack Iran.

“If this war is initiated by the U.S. or the Zionist regime (Israel), Iran will target their interests, bases and forces – wherever they may be and whenever deemed necessary,” Nasirzadeh stated.

The United States military has at least 19 facilities across the Middle East, all of which could potentially be attacked should the U.S. engage in a direct conflict with Iran, placing tens of thousands of U.S. military personnel at risk.

The announcement followed after a Houthi ballistic missile was able to get past Israel’s Iron Dome defense system on Sunday, slamming into the ground near the Ben Gurion Airport.

The Houthis, allied with Iran, have stated that the Israeli international airport is “no longer safe for air travel,” and have also been targeting ships in the Red Sea, which they claim is out of solidarity with the Palestinians in Gaza.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded to the attack, threatening to respond to the Yemen based Houthis while blaming Iran.

“Attacks by the Houthis emanate from Iran. Israel will respond to the Houthi attack against our main airport AND, at a time and place of our choosing, to their Iranian terror masters,” he stated.

Despite Netanyahu’s claim, Nasirzadeh argued that the Houthis act independently to serve their own motivations.

Netanyahu also shared a Truth Social post from President Donald Trump in March, in which Trump also blamed Iran for attacks coming from the Houthis.

“Iran has played ‘the innocent victim’ of rogue terrorists from which they’ve lost control, but they haven’t lost control. They’re dictating every move, giving them the weapons, supplying them with money and highly sophisticated Military equipment, and even, so-called, ‘Intelligence,’” Trump wrote at the time.

“Every shot fired by the Houthis will be looked upon, from this point forward, as being a shot fired from the weapons and leadership of IRAN, and IRAN will be held responsible, and suffer the consequences, and those consequences will be dire!” he added.

President Trump is absolutely right!

Attacks by the Houthis emanate from Iran. Israel will respond to the Houthi attack against our main airport AND, at a time and place of our choosing, to their Iranian terror masters. pic.twitter.com/eO4hyUzNsI

— Benjamin Netanyahu – בנימין נתניהו (@netanyahu) May 4, 2025

Meanwhile, Netanyahu has seemingly expressed his frustration with President Trump’s policies regarding the Middle East, according to a report from The Times of Israel.

The report claims that Netanyahu has been worried over President Trump’s openness to speak with Iran regarding their nuclear program and the “concessions supposedly made by the Trump administration with little in return,” according to the report.

Israeli newspaper Israel Hayom also reported that Netanyahu was upset over U.S. National Security Advisor Mike Waltz being removed from his position.

Waltz was reportedly removed from his position over the Signal leak, and his extremely hawkish stance against Iran, and reportedly speaking with Netanyahu on potential military options to attack Iran’s nuclear facilities, according to the Washington Post.

Waltz “wanted to take the U.S. policy in a direction Trump wasn’t comfortable with because the U.S. hadn’t attempted a diplomatic solution,” according to a source speaking with the Post. “It got back to Trump and the president wasn’t happy with it.”

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