Iran threatens retaliation without geographic limits
Mojtaba Khamenei calls for an expansion of possible targets. At the same time, Tehran continues its contacts with mediators in Qatar.
According to Iranian accounts, Iran's supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei has instructed the armed forces to respond to new threats immediately and without geographic restrictions. The announcement, circulated on Saturday, 31 October 2026, is directed against the USA and Israel. At the same time, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi reported further contacts with mediators in Qatar.
The two signals come from different parts of the leadership: Khamenei demands military deterrence, while Araghchi negotiates the conditions for a diplomatic continuation. In its public presentation, Tehran thus links the prospect of talks with the threat of a geographically expanded response to new attacks.
Khamenei demands an updated target list
The Iranian agency Tasnim published Khamenei's instructions to the leadership of the general staff, the army and the Revolutionary Guards. According to the text, the military target database is to be expanded so that American and Israeli material and non-material assets are covered. The published text named neither specific attack locations nor a date.
According to this account, Chief of Staff Ali Abdollahi, army commander Amir Hatami and the commander of the Revolutionary Guards, Ahmad Vahidi, took part in the meeting. The commanders reported on operational readiness in the Persian Gulf, at the Strait of Hormuz, in the Gulf of Oman and on the country's north-western and south-eastern borders.
Abdollahi subsequently declared, according to Iranian state broadcaster Press TV, that the armed forces had prepared a new stock of possible targets across a larger geographic area. A renewed aggression would be answered more sharply. These are public statements by the Iranian military leadership; they do not demonstrate an independently verified capability to actually strike all the targets named.
The wording deliberately leaves the possible scope of retaliation wide open. Neither a concrete threat against Switzerland nor an already initiated new operation can be derived from it. Precisely because no target locations are named, a list of supposedly immediately endangered countries would be speculative.
Contacts with mediators are under way in Doha
Araghchi described an American attempt to open dialogue as a positive step on the same day. In an interview with Al Jazeera, whose statements Tasnim reproduced, he said the leadership had examined a letter from US Vice President JD Vance. An employee of his ministry is in Qatar to continue the consultations. Qatari and Pakistani mediators remain active.
The minister named concrete Iranian demands: an easing of the sanctions imposed after a memorandum from Islamabad, fewer US troops in the region, renewed exceptions for oil transactions and the release of frozen funds. According to his account, the rules for shipping routes through the Strait of Hormuz are also among the conditions.
Araghchi also spoke of a shortened timetable for the Iranian proposal to reopen the strait. He said nothing about a joint implementation plan or about Washington accepting these demands. He stated that meetings with American representatives are currently not planned. The delegation in Doha is therefore initially a contact with mediators, not the publicly confirmed start of direct US-Iran negotiations.
The Swiss channel remains confidential
Switzerland has represented US interests in Iran since 21 May 1980. In its country overview published on 29 October, the FDFA describes the mandate as a diplomatic link between the two foreign ministries and as a consular and administrative service for American nationals.
The mandate exists alongside other mediation channels. The fact that Tehran currently names Qatar and Pakistan therefore says nothing about the content of possible Swiss message transmissions. The FDFA explicitly states that it does not provide information on concrete activities of the protecting power mandate for reasons of confidentiality. For the recent contacts, there is thus no public confirmation of Swiss involvement.
How strongly the security situation can restrict work on the ground became visible in spring: the Swiss embassy was temporarily closed on 11 March. On 24 April, the FDFA announced the gradual resumption after a risk analysis and consultations with Iran and the USA. The Foreign Interests Section records its reopening on 3 May.
Diplomatic transmission and practical help on the ground thus continue to depend on different preconditions. For the next talks in Doha, Araghchi for now mainly names the Iranian conditions. He has not announced a joint agreement on which side should carry out which step first.
Sources
- FDFA: Bilateral relations Switzerland–Iran, as of 29 October 2026
- FDFA: Situation in the Middle East and the Swiss communication channel
- Swiss Embassy: Foreign Interests Section
- Tasnim: Published instructions from Khamenei of 31 October
- Press TV: Statement by Chief of Staff Abdollahi
- Tasnim: Araghchi's statements in the Al Jazeera interview
- Al Jazeera: Interview with Abbas Araghchi of 31 October
- Wikimedia Commons: Azadi Tower by Ali Sajadi
- License: CC BY-SA 4.0
- Wikimedia Commons: Federal Palace by Robbie Conceptuel
- License: CC0 1.0
