Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei has ordered the country’s top military commanders to answer any renewed attack by the United States and Israel with an immediate response “without geographical limitations,” according to a statement from his office, in the clearest public signal yet of how Tehran intends to respond if the war resumes after the U.S. midterm elections.
The statement was first reported Saturday by Axios, which serves as the primary source for this report. Khamenei told the commanders that a renewed attack “must be met with an immediate and effective response, without geographical limitations” in order to achieve “maximum deterrence.”
What Khamenei Said
The statement quoted the supreme leader as saying: “If the enemies once again launch military or terrorist attacks, it will be the Islamic Republic of Iran’s Armed Forces and the Iranian nation that determine when and under what conditions those hostilities will end.”
The statement said the meeting included armed forces chief of staff Gen. Ali Abdollahi, army commander Maj. Gen. Amir Hatami and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps commander Maj. Gen. Ahmad Vahidi. Axios described it as the first publicly disclosed meeting between Khamenei and all of Iran’s top armed forces commanders since the war began.
According to the statement, the commanders briefed Khamenei on military readiness along the Gulf coastline and around the Strait of Hormuz, the Gulf of Oman, and Iran’s northwestern and southeastern borders. They also reported “a several-fold increase” in the production of various types of ammunition and of reconnaissance, support and combat weapons.
Khamenei instructed the commanders that the “target bank” must be updated “so that all types of the American-Zionist enemy’s material and non-material assets fall within the reach of the Armed Forces.” He also praised “the intelligent steadfastness” of Iran’s proxies across the region and described “the unity of the different arenas” as a “decisive and strategic” element for Iran.
A Leader Unseen Since the War’s First Day
Khamenei has not been seen or heard in public since he was wounded in an Israeli strike on the first day of the war, Axios reported. He has issued only written statements, which has raised questions about his condition.
The war began on February 28, when U.S.-Israeli strikes killed his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, along with several senior military commanders. Mojtaba Khamenei subsequently became supreme leader.
Because no recording or footage of the meeting has been released, the account of it rests on the written statement from his office.
Diplomacy Under a Midterm Deadline
The meeting came a day after Qatari mediators held talks in Tehran for more than 12 hours in an effort to restart direct negotiations between Washington and Tehran and avoid an outbreak of war after the midterm elections, which are scheduled for Tuesday. The discussions continued in Doha on Saturday.
Iranian negotiators met Qatari mediators in Doha on Saturday to discuss paths out of the war, a source told Reuters, as diplomats try to head off a new outbreak of fighting after the vote. A senior Iranian official told Reuters on Friday that a U.S. proposal was not deemed satisfactory by Tehran.
Reuters also reported that Iran has been advancing its own seven-day plan since September, which President Donald Trump has so far rejected.
Araghchi’s Conditions
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told Al Jazeera that senior officials have discussed a proposal from Vice President JD Vance and called the U.S. effort to open talks a “positive step.”
Araghchi laid out a strict set of demands for any agreement: lifting sanctions, reducing the U.S. military presence in the region, and recognizing a Strait of Hormuz shipping route agreed to with Oman.
He said reopening the strait on Iran’s terms could pave the way for direct negotiations. Iran is also examining mediators’ proposals on its nuclear program, which Axios described as a bottom-line issue for the United States.
What Is at Stake
Axios reported that Trump is weighing major strikes on Iran after the midterms. Separately, Axios reported that Iran has vowed to answer any U.S. strikes on its energy infrastructure by attacking oil and gas facilities in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait and Bahrain.
The supreme leader’s directive, issued while negotiators remain engaged, places a military order and a diplomatic track side by side. The statement did not say whether Khamenei had been briefed on the Qatari proposals or on the Vance letter.
Neither the White House nor the Iranian government had publicly responded to the supreme leader’s statement at the time of publication.