Israel's Operation Rising Lion: Iran warns 'sworn enemies' should expect retaliation; says US 'responsible for consequences'

Iran warned Israel after it launched "Operation Rising Lion" on Thursday in Tehran, targeting Iranian nuclear and military sites. Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, on Friday, issued a statement stating that Israel's strike reveals their malicious nature. "Israel opened its wicked and blood-stained hand to a crime in our beloved country, revealing its malicious nature more than ever by striking residential centers,” Khamenei says.“With this crime, the Zionist regime has set itself for a bitter and painful fate and it will definitely receive it,” he added.He also said that Israel has unleashed its wicked and bloody hand in a crime against Iran. He went on to say the attack revealed Israel's "vile nature."

Israel will pay heavy heavy price, warns of retaliation against 'sworn enemies': Revolutionary Guards

Israel will pay a heavy price for its attack on Iran which killed Revolutionary Guards top commander Hossein Salami, the Guards said in a statement on Friday, warning of a decisive retaliation against its "sworn enemies.""The Israeli attack was carried out with full knowledge and support of the wicked rulers in the White House and terrorist US Regime," the Guards' statement said, as per Reuters.

Iran has right to respond attack, US will be held responsible: Israel foreign ministry

The regimes foreign ministry also issued a statement insisting that Iran had the right to respond to the attack in accordance with international law.

"This morning, the occupying and rogue Zionist regime, violating the territorial integrity and national sovereignty of our beloved Iran, attacked areas including several residential areas in Tehran and several other cities of our country, and killed a group of the most honorable and patriotic servants of the homeland in the field of defending the honor and authority of Iran and science and technology, along with other innocent people.

," the statement read. "The Zionist regime's attacks on Iran are a violation of Article 4, Paragraph 2, of the Charter of the United Nations and a clear aggression against the Islamic Republic of Iran."Responding to this aggression is Iran's legal and legitimate right in accordance with Article 51 of the Charter of the United Nations, and the armed forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran will not hesitate to defend the Iranian nation with all their might and in a manner they determine."The aggressive actions of the Zionist regime against Iran could not have been carried out without coordination with and approval of the United States. Thus, the US government, as the main supporter of this regime, will be held responsible for the dangerous consequences of Israel's adventurism."

The Israeli attack comes hours after Iran announced that it has built and plans to activate a third nuclear enrichment facility, escalating tensions with the United Nations just after the UN’s atomic watchdog censured the country for failing to meet its nonproliferation commitments aimed at preventing the development of nuclear weapons.The strikes occurred amid heightened tensions regarding Iran's nuclear programme. The International Atomic Energy Agency's Board of Governors issued its first censure against Iran in 20 years on Thursday. Iran responded by announcing plans for a third enrichment facility and upgrading its centrifuges.Israel maintains its stance against Iran developing nuclear weapons, while Tehran denies such intentions despite issuing contradictory statements.