Panoramic view of the Old City of Jerusalem at dawn on Sunday
Tehran:
Iran’s military said on Sunday that drone and missile attacks on Israel in retaliation for a deadly attack on Iran’s consulate in Damascus had “achieved all of their objectives.”
Mohammad Bagheri, chief of staff of Iran’s armed forces, told state television that “Operation Honest Commitment… has been successfully completed from last night to this morning and achieved all its objectives”.
Iran said it attacked Israel in “self-defense” following an attack on its diplomatic mission in Damascus on April 1, an attack widely blamed on Israel.
The attack in Damascus leveled the five-story Iranian embassy in the Syrian capital and killed seven Revolutionary Guardsmen, including two generals.
Bagheri said the retaliatory attacks targeted an “intelligence center” and an air base from which Tehran said Israeli F-35 fighter jets struck the Damascus consulate.
“Both centers were severely damaged and paralyzed,” he said, although Israel insisted the attack caused only minor damage.
“We think this operation is complete, we think this operation is over,” Bagheri said.
“There is no intention to continue this operation,” he said, calling on Israel to avoid further actions against Iran, which Bagheri said would lead to a “larger” response.
The Army chief also warned the United States not to assist any Israeli actions against Iran.
He added: “We are sending a message to the United States through the Swiss embassy that if the United States cooperates with Israel in its next possible actions, their bases will not be safe.”
IRGC Commander Hossein Salami welcomed what he called a “limited operation” targeting Israel’s “capabilities used to attack our embassy.”
Salami added that it was “more successful than expected.”
He reiterated that Israel would “fight back” if it targeted Iranian interests or individuals.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
