Iran's supreme leader Khamenei warns US and Israel of 'crushing response'

Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned the US and Israel they will “undoubtedly receive a crushing response” for their actions against his country.

“Enemies, including America and the Zionist regime, should know that they will undoubtedly receive a crushing response for what they do against Iran and the resistance front,” Mr Khamenei said in an X post on Saturday.

He made the comments during a speech to students before the anniversary of the 1979 seizure of the US embassy in Tehran. Hardline students had led the act, shortly after the Islamic revolution that ousted the US-backed Shah.

Regional tensions have risen since the start of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, drawing in those Iran-aligned groups and others from Iraq and Syria. Iran-backed Hezbollah and Israel exchanged cross-border fire for about a year after an unprecedented attack on southern Israel on October 7 last year by Hamas militants.

On October 26, Israel conducted air strikes on military sites in Iran in response to Tehran's October 1 attack on Israel, itself retaliation for the killing of Iran-backed militant leaders and a Revolutionary Guards commander. At least four soldiers were killed in the attack which Iran said caused “limited damage” to a few radar systems. Iranian media said a civilian was also killed.

Mr Khamenei paid tribute to those killed, saying their efforts in confronting Israel “will not be forgotten”.

Israel has warned Iran against responding to Israel's attack. On Friday, the US announced the deployment of additional military assets to the Middle East, including ballistic missile defence destroyers and long-range B-52 bomber aircraft, serving as a warning to Iran as it and Israel trade retaliatory strikes.

Mr Khamenei said Iran was “certainly doing everything that should be done to prepare the Iranian nation, whether in terms of military, in terms of weapons, or in terms of political work”.

On Saturday, Gen Mohammad Ali Naini, a spokesman for Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard that controls the ballistic missiles needed to strike Israel, warned that Iran's response “will be wise, powerful and beyond the enemy’s comprehension.” He made the comments in an interview with the semi-official Fars news agency just before Mr Khamenei's remarks were released.

“The enemy should learn that it cannot commit any evil,” Mr Naini was quoted by the Fars news agency as saying. “It will undoubtedly receive a crushing response to its evildoing.”

Iran will mark the 45th anniversary of the US Embassy hostage crisis on Sunday, following the Persian calendar. The November 4, 1979 storming of the embassy by students led to the 444-day crisis, leading to the strained relationship between Tehran and Washington.

Moral education needed in a 'rapidly changing world'

Moral education lessons for young people is needed in a rapidly changing world, the head of the programme said.

Alanood Al Kaabi, head of programmes at the Education Affairs Office of the Crown Price Court - Abu Dhabi, said: "The Crown Price Court is fully behind this initiative and have already seen the curriculum succeed in empowering young people and providing them with the necessary tools to succeed in building the future of the nation at all levels.

"Moral education touches on every aspect and subject that children engage in.

"It is not just limited to science or maths but it is involved in all subjects and it is helping children to adapt to integral moral practises.

"The moral education programme has been designed to develop children holistically in a world being rapidly transformed by technology and globalisation."

'Morbius'

Director: Daniel Espinosa

Stars: Jared Leto, Matt Smith, Adria Arjona

Rating: 2/5

MATCH INFO

Uefa Champions League semi-final, second leg result:

Ajax 2-3 Tottenham

Tottenham advance on away goals rule after tie ends 3-3 on aggregate

Final: June 1, Madrid

Farage on Muslim Brotherhood

Nigel Farage told Reform's annual conference that the party will proscribe the Muslim Brotherhood if he becomes Prime Minister.
"We will stop dangerous organisations with links to terrorism operating in our country," he said. "Quite why we've been so gutless about this – both Labour and Conservative – I don't know.
“All across the Middle East, countries have banned and proscribed the Muslim Brotherhood as a dangerous organisation. We will do the very same.”
It is 10 years since a ground-breaking report into the Muslim Brotherhood by Sir John Jenkins.
Among the former diplomat's findings was an assessment that “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” has “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
The prime minister at the time, David Cameron, who commissioned the report, said membership or association with the Muslim Brotherhood was a "possible indicator of extremism" but it would not be banned.