Iran said planning to use more powerful weapons in next attack on Israel

 At the same time, Iran’s president suggests truces in Lebanon, Gaza could soften retribution, as Iranians attend state-backed rallies against Israel and the US

Iran is preparing an attack on Israel in response to the recent strikes on Iranian military sites that will use more powerful warheads and “other weapons” not used in its previous two attacks, Iranian and Arab officials briefed on the plans.

At the same time, Iran’s president said a potential ceasefire between Israel and its allies Hamas and Hezbollah “could affect the intensity” of Tehran’s threatened attack.

Iranian leaders have warned they will mete out a “punishing” reprisal attack against Israel for a series of retaliatory sorties on October 26 — themselves a reaction to a massive Iranian ballistic missile attack — that Jerusalem says knocked out the Islamic Republic’s air defenses and missile production capabilities. Reports have indicated the response could come as soon as this week.

An Egyptian official told The Journal that Tehran warned Cairo privately that its response to Israel will be “strong and complex.”

An Iranian official reportedly said that because its military lost four soldiers and a civilian, there is a necessity to respond.

The report said Iran’s military will be involved in the operation, marking a departure from the April 13-14 and October 1 missile attacks which were carried out by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

The official said the attack will target Israeli military sites “much more aggressively than last time,” and that Iraqi territory may be used to launch projectiles.

But according to state news agency IRNA, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said: “If [the Israelis] reconsider their behavior, accept a ceasefire and stop massacring the oppressed and innocent people of the region, it could affect the intensity and type of our response.”

He added that Iran “will not leave unanswered any aggression against its sovereignty and security,” according to the news agency.

On Thursday, senior White House aides Brett McGurk and Amos Hochstein were in Israel for talks with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and senior officials about conflicts with Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon, both backed by Iran.

The meetings focused on efforts to secure a 60-day ceasefire deal in Lebanon and to assess new proposals floated by mediators to free Israeli hostages being held in Gaza, according to a US official familiar with planning for the talks who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment publicly.