Geographically unrestricted response: Mojtaba Khamenei's orders to Iran's military

Iran's Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei on Saturday ordered the armed forces to deliver an immediate, forceful and “geographically unrestricted response” to any enemy threat, according to a statement published on his official Telegram account.

He also directed the military to update its target list to bring “all US and Israeli assets, tangible and intangible” within striking range.

Khamenei said Iran would determine the timing and terms for ending any new conflict if its enemies resumed military or “terrorist attacks”.

He ordered the armed forces to increase production of ammunition and weapons for reconnaissance, support and combat operations, strengthen military intelligence and develop indigenous defence capabilities.

Khamenei, 56, has not been seen in public since the US-Iran war erupted, fuelling speculation about his health and whereabouts.

According to Mohsen Heydari, a member of Iran's Assembly of Experts, Khamenei survived a second round of US strikes on Tehran after being wounded in the initial attacks that killed his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, on February 28.

According to Heydari, he was taken to a hospital in Tehran after the strikes but was caught in another attack when the medical facility was bombed. He was later pulled from the rubble, he told an Arab news publication. - Ends