LONDON, October 28. /TASS/. Iran will respond decisively to any act of aggression directed against it, Ali Akbar Velayati, adviser to Iran's Supreme Leader, stated.

"We have never started any wars, as attested by history, and the Iran-Iraq war served as a vivid example of that policy. Still, we would confront an act of aggression in a way that would make any aggressor regret what they did," Velayati said in an interview with the Financial Times.

Velayati dismissed Israeli strikes against Iran as "much ado about nothing" and cautioned that Israel "has the potential to ignite the volatile Middle East region."

On October 26, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced it had conducted surgical strikes on military targets in Iran "in response to months of continuous attacks." The Iranian military reported that some facilities in the provinces of Tehran, Khuzestan, and Ilam were targeted, but stated that Israel caused only limited damage, as the country’s air defense systems successfully intercepted the main assault. Iran's military confirmed the death of at least four soldiers as a result of the strikes.

On October 1, the Islamic Republic launched a massive missile attack on Israel in retaliation for the killings of senior officials from the Palestinian militant group Hamas, the Hezbollah Shiite Islamist group, and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (Iran’s elite armed forces). According to Israeli reports, approximately 180 missiles were fired, with most intercepted. Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, warned that attacks on Israel would be further escalated.