Tehran [Iran], Apr 17: Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi said on Wednesday that if Israel makes the slightest act of aggression on Iran’s soil, it will be dealt a powerful and fierce blow.
Addressing a parade of the Iran Army on the occasion of National Army Day, President Raisi said that Iran’s retaliatory operation against the Israeli regime, dubbed ‘Operation True Promise’, was “limited” and “punitive”, according to a report by IRNA.
“The army stands by the nation and acts to defend the homeland, territorial integrity, and the values of the Islamic Revolution,” Raisi said at a military base on the outskirts of Tehran, as cited in the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA).
The operation showed that “Our army is a skilled and trained one,” Raisi said.
He further said that the well-equipped and up-to-date army along with the powerful Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) and Iran’s armed forces are the sources of the country’s authority, adding that regional forces can “rely on our armed forces.”
On Tuesday, Raisi warned that any mistake by Israel and their allies will meet with “real and large-scale response from Iran”.
The president made the remarks in a meeting in Tehran yesterday with Vice-President of Lebanon’s Supreme Islamic Shia Council, Sheikh Ali Al-Khatib.
The head of Israel’s military has said the country would respond to Iran’s weekend attack as several Western countries urged Israel to avoid an escalation of the conflict in the Middle East, Al Jazeera reported.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu summoned his war cabinet for the second time in less than 24 hours on Monday over Iran’s missile and drone attack.
Israel’s military Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi said his country would respond but did not provide details.
“This launch of so many missiles, cruise missiles, and drones into Israeli territory will be met with a response,” Al Jazeera quoted he said at the Nevatim Airbase in southern Israel.
Meanwhile, British Foreign Minister David Cameron who is visiting Israel said it is clear the Israel had made a decision to respond to the Iranian drone and ballistic missile attack and he hoped this would be carried out in a way that minimized escalation, the Times of Israel reported.
The United States has also said that it will impose new sanctions targeting Tehran after Iran’s attack on Israel over the weekend.
White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan has said that the US will impose new sanctions on Iran’s missile and drone programmes and new sanctions against entities backing the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and Iran’s Defence Ministry in the coming days.
Sullivan said that US also expects its allies and partners to impose sanctions against Iran.
He said that the US continues to work to further strengthen and expand the successful integration of air and missile defence and early warning systems across the Middle East to further erode the effectiveness of Iran’s missile and UAV capabilities.
Earlier on Saturday, Iran launched several drones and missiles towards Israel in retaliation for the alleged Israeli air strike on its consulate in Syria that resulted in the killing of Iran’s three top generals, The Times of Israel reported.
On Sunday morning, Israel Defence Forces (IDF) spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said that 99 per cent of the 300 or so projectiles fired by Iran at Israel overnight were intercepted by air defences.
“The Iranian threat met the aerial and technological superiority of the IDF, combined with a strong fighting coalition, which together intercepted the vast majority of the threats,” Hagari said.
According to a report in the CNN, about 350 rockets were fired at Israel by Iran and its allies in Iraq, Syria, Yemen and Lebanon. The attack included about 170 drones, more than 30 cruise missiles and more than 120 ballistic missiles. Nearly all were intercepted, according to the Israeli military and the White House. The United States, Jordan and Britain also took part in intercepting the attack.
