Iran declared its legal and legitimate right to respond after successfully countering Israeli attacks on Saturday, following an air assault by Israel targeting multiple sites across three Iranian provinces.
In a statement released on the Iranian army’s public relations website, the General Staff of Iran’s Armed Forces reported that Israeli aircraft launched “long-range air-launched missiles with very light warheads” early Saturday.
These missiles were aimed at border areas in the western province of Ilam, the southwestern province of Khuzestan, and areas near the capital, Tehran, according to official reports. The missiles caused “limited and ineffective” damage to several Iranian radar installations.
Iran’s air defence systems intercepted a “significant” number of the missiles, preventing Israeli aircraft from breaching Iranian airspace.
The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) stated on Saturday that they carried out “precise and targeted” airstrikes on various locations in Iran in retaliation for Iranian attacks in recent months. The IDF reported successful strikes on several military sites within Iran used in operations against Israel.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed the strikes had “severely harmed” Iran, meeting “all predetermined goals.” Israel’s Defence Minister, Yoav Gallant, later briefed US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin on the operation, which reportedly targeted missile manufacturing sites, surface-to-air missile arrays, and other Iranian aerial assets, according to Gallant’s office on Sunday.
In response, Iran’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, cautioned against downplaying or exaggerating the impact of Israeli attacks.
Khamenei’s comments, made while addressing the families of Iranian soldiers killed in the strikes, emphasised, “Exaggeration is wrong, but minimising their actions is equally misleading.” He asserted that Israel underestimated Iran’s defence capabilities and added, “We should make them understand all this.”
Iran’s foreign ministry condemned the attack in a separate statement, affirming Iran’s “inherent right to self-defence” while also committing to its “responsibilities for regional peace and stability.”
Earlier this month, on October 1, Iran launched over 180 projectiles, including missiles, targeting sites in Israel, including Mossad headquarters, in response to previous Israeli attacks in Tehran, which resulted in the death of senior Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh.
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