Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei called for an immediate military response to any potential strikes by the United States or Israel on Saturday, October 31, 2026. The official IRNA news agency reported that Khamenei instructed military forces to maintain combat readiness and update their bank of potential U.S. and Israeli targets. Khamenei stated that any level of threat would face a reaction with no geographic limits.
The statements follow a conflict that began on February 28, 2026, when U.S. and Israeli strikes killed the previous supreme leader and other high-ranking Iranian officials. Mojtaba Khamenei, who succeeded his father, has not been seen in public since the start of the war but has reportedly been meeting with senior officials. The recent remarks come amid international diplomatic efforts to prevent the current crisis from escalating into a larger regional conflict.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi reported on Saturday that a new proposal has been reached with mediators to fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz within two days. This follows the rejection of a previous proposal that required the U.S. to lift its port blockade and release frozen assets. Araghchi also confirmed that Iran has reviewed a letter from U.S. Vice President JD Vance regarding broader dialogue, though he stated that direct negotiations would only occur if Washington agrees to Iran's conditions.
The escalation involves a broad range of regional actors, including Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, and Syria. Saudi Arabia’s Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Waleed ElKhereiji and Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty both emphasized at a security forum in Bahrain that a second round of full-scale war would be destructive for the region. The conflict also influences defense policy for Turkey and Pakistan, who are members of the Saudi-led Mecca Pact alliance that Syria is currently evaluating for potential membership.
For the residents of the Middle East, the outcome of these diplomatic talks will determine whether they experience a return to peace or a period of intensified military strikes and border tensions. A high-level meeting between Syria and Jordan is scheduled for next month to address shared border security responsibilities following recent air strikes. The U.S. government’s next steps regarding Vice President Vance’s proposal for dialogue will dictate whether the current indirect mediation transitions into formal negotiations between Washington and Tehran.