According to Tehran, the attack on Israel was a one-time retaliatory operation of “limited scope.” At the same time, Israel is warned against a military response. Several Western ambassadors were summoned.
According to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, the massive retaliatory strike on Israel could have been significantly stronger. “We carried out an operation limited in scope and size against the Zionist regime,” Revolutionary Guards commander Hussein Salami said, according to Tasnim news agency.
The attack could have been significantly larger, “but we limited the scope of the operation to the part of the facilities that the regime used to attack our consulate (in Syria),” the agency further quoted the commander as saying.
Harsh response threatened if Israel retaliates
If Israel responded with retaliatory measures, the regime in Tehran announced a clear response. Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi stated that “any new adventures against the interests of the Iranian nation” would be harshly responded to by the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Armed Forces Chief of Staff Major General Mohammad Bagheri made similar comments: “If Israel retaliates, our response will be much greater than tonight’s military action,” he said.
How does Israel react?
It is still unclear how and whether Israel will react. An Israeli army spokesman announced an unspecified reaction. “We will respond to Iran with actions, not words,” he told the opposition exile broadcaster Iran International, according to a statement from the army on the online platform X. According to Israel, around 300 projectiles were fired by Iran and 99 percent of them Israel and its allies intercepted. The Israeli war cabinet is currently discussing how to proceed.
Bagheri also warned the US against supporting Israel in possible counterstrikes, saying US military bases would otherwise be “not safe”. Tehran sent this message to the USA through the Swiss embassy. The embassy looks after US interests in Iran because the United States does not have diplomatic relations with Tehran.
Iran informed allies in advance of the attack
Iran’s Foreign Minister Hussein Amirabdollahian informed Iran’s allies in the region in advance of the attack on Israel. “Of course, we informed our friends in the countries of the region 72 hours before the operation that Iran’s response in the form of a legitimate defense is definite and certain,” Amirabdollahian said, according to the Iranian news agency Isna.
It was not clear whether the allies were also informed of the exact time. “We consider the security of our neighbors and the region to be the security of the Islamic Republic of Iran,” the minister added.
Several ambassadors summoned
Numerous Western states strongly condemned the Iranian attack on Israel. Iran then summoned the ambassadors of Germany, France and Great Britain. Tehran denounced the “irresponsible positions of some of those responsible in these countries regarding the Iranian response” to Israel’s actions against Iranian interests, as the ministry said in a statement.
Iran’s attacks are limited and serve self-defense, explains Foreign Minister Amirabdollahian after the meeting with foreign ambassadors.
Uwe Lueb, ARD Istanbuls, tagesschau, April 14, 2024 3:16 p.m