Iran plans retaliation for Israeli strikes before U.S. elections

Israel’s recent attacks on Iran will be met with a “definitive and painful” response that will likely come before the November 5 U.S. presidential election, a high-ranking Iranian source told CNN.

“The response of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the aggression of Israel will be definitive and painful,” the source said.

Although the source did not provide an exact date for the attack, they said it “will probably take place before the day of the U.S. presidential election.”

In his initial response to last weekend’s strikes, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei opted to give a more measured response, saying the strikes should “neither be exaggerated nor downplayed.”