Those who know Iran's history know that Iranians do not answer well to the language of threat, the country’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Hosseini Khamenei, said in a televised address on Wednesday in an apparent answer to US President Donald Trump.
Iran, Khamenei said, will not accept an “imposed peace or war”.
“They should know that Iran will not surrender and any US strike will have serious, irreparable consequences,” Khamenei said. “Israel made a huge mistake and will be punished for that.”
He added: “People will not forget the blood of martyrs and the attack on their territory.”
His defiance comes against the backdrop of Washington seemingly shaking off its ambivalence and firmly backing the Israeli offensive against Iran’s nuclear programmes.
On Tuesday evening, Trump made a series of posts on social media calling for Iran’s “complete surrender”.
“We now have complete and total control of the skies over Iran. Iran had good sky trackers and other defensive equipment, and plenty of it, but it doesn't compare to American made, conceived, and manufactured "stuff." Nobody does it better than the good ol' USA,” the US President wrote in one of his posts, the “we” being interpreted as Washington openly backing Israel.
In another post, he wrote: “We know exactly where the so-called ‘Supreme Leader' is hiding. He is an easy target, but is safe there - We are not going to take him out (kill!), at least not for now. But we don't want missiles shot at civilians, or American soldiers. Our patience is wearing thin.”
Israeli warplanes pounded Iran's capital overnight and into Wednesday as Iran launched a small barrage of missiles at Israel with no reports of casualties. An Iranian official warned Wednesday that any US intervention in the conflict would risk “all-out war”.
Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei delivered the warning in an interview with Al Jazeera English, saying “any American intervention would be a recipe for an all-out war in the region”.
He did not elaborate, but thousands of American troops are based in nearby countries within range of Iran's weapons.
The US has threatened a massive response to any attack.
Another Iranian official said the country would keep enriching uranium for peaceful purposes, apparently ruling out demands to give up its disputed nuclear programme.
US President Donald Trump initially distanced himself from Israel's surprise attack on Friday that triggered the conflict, but in recent days has hinted at greater American involvement, saying he wants something “much bigger” than a ceasefire.
The US has also sent more warplanes to the region.
Strikes in and around Tehran
The latest Israeli strikes hit a facility used to make uranium centrifuges and another that made missile components, the Israeli military said. It said it had intercepted 10 missiles overnight as Iran's retaliatory barrages diminish. The UN nuclear watchdog said Israel had struck two centrifuge production facilities in and near Tehran.
Israeli strikes have hit several nuclear and military sites, killing top generals and nuclear scientists. A Washington-based Iranian human rights group said at least 585 people, including 239 civilians, have been killed and more than 1,300 wounded.
Iran has fired some 400 missiles and hundreds of drones in retaliatory strikes that have killed at least 24 people in Israel and wounded hundreds. Some have hit apartment buildings in central Israel, causing heavy damage, and air raid sirens have repeatedly forced Israelis to run for shelter.
Iran has fired fewer missiles as the conflict has worn on. It has not explained the decline, but Israel has targeted launchers and other infrastructure related to the missiles.
A major explosion could be heard around 5am in Tehran Wednesday, following other explosions earlier in the predawn darkness. Authorities in Iran offered no acknowledgement of the attacks, which has become increasingly common as the Israeli airstrikes have intensified.
At least one strike appeared to target Tehran's eastern neighbourhood of Hakimiyeh, where the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard has an academy.
No signs of backing down
Israel says it launched the strikes to prevent Iran from building a nuclear weapon, after talks between the United States and Iran over a diplomatic resolution had made little visible progress over two months but were still ongoing. Trump has said Israel's campaign came after a 60-day window he set for the talks.
Iran long has insisted its nuclear programme was peaceful, though it is the only non-nuclear-armed state to enrich uranium up to 60 per cent, a short, technical step away from weapons-grade levels of 90 per cent.
US intelligence agencies have said they did not believe Iran was actively pursuing the bomb.
Israel is the only country in the Middle East with nuclear weapons but has never publicly acknowledged them.
Iran's ambassador to Geneva, Ali Bahreini, told reporters that Iran "will continue to produce the enriched uranium as far as we need for peaceful purposes”.
He rejected any talk of a setback to Iran's nuclear research and development from the Israeli strikes, saying, “Our scientists will continue their work.”
(with inputs from agencies)