No drone or missile “has penetrated the territory of Israel,” the Jewish state proclaimed this Sunday morning. “The Iranian attack was foiled (…). We intercepted 99% of the fire towards Israel,” Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said in a televised address, after a massive attack by Iran in which it launched more than 200 drones and missiles towards Israel.
Only a few ballistic missiles “entered and lightly hit the Nevatim base,” he continued. “The base is still active and the runways are used for landings and takeoffs. »
“With the United States and other partners, we succeeded in defending the territory of the State of Israel,” added Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, “very little damage was caused, is the result of the remarkable operations of the Israeli Defense Forces. »
After meeting with Israeli defense officials, the minister recalled that “the campaign is not yet over. »
For Iran, “the case can be considered closed”
For its part, Iran called on Israel this Sunday not to react militarily to its unprecedented attack, which it presented as a justified response to the strike that destroyed its consulate in Damascus. “The case can be considered closed,” announced the Iranian mission to the UN in a message posted three hours after the start of its operation.
But, she immediately warned, "if the Israeli regime made another mistake, Iran's response would be considerably more severe." No leader of the Islamic Republic spoke during the night to justify this first attack to directly target Israel since the 1979 revolution in Iran.
It was carried out by the Revolutionary Guards, the ideological army of power, who launched dozens of drones and missiles towards military sites on Israeli territory. This “military action by Iran is a response to the aggression of the Zionist regime against our diplomatic premises in Damascus,” explained the Iranian mission to the UN.
It was “carried out on the basis of Article 51 of the United Nations Charter relating to self-defense”, according to her.
In the last two weeks, the Iranian authorities had affirmed their desire to “punish” Israel after the death of seven Revolutionary Guards, including two generals of the Quds Force, in the destruction of the Iranian consulate in Syria by a strike attributed to Israel on April 1st. Israel “will be slapped”, warned the Supreme Guide, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
“The next slap will be more violent”
Since the 1979 revolution, Israel has been the sworn enemy of the Islamic Republic, which calls for its destruction in favor of a Palestinian state. But, until now, Tehran had refrained from attacking it head-on, preferring to support the actions carried out by other members of the “axis of resistance”, including the Lebanese Hezbollah and the Yemeni Houthi rebels since the start of the war in the Gaza Strip between Israel and Palestinian Hamas on October 7.
Hours before the strikes, Iran seized a container ship accused of being “linked” to Israel with 25 crew members on board in Gulf waters on Saturday. “An act of piracy” for Washington. During the night, Tehran also warned the United States, urging them to “stay away” from its conflict with Israel.
“Any threat emanating from the US terrorist government and the Zionist regime... will result in a reciprocal and proportionate response from the Islamic Republic of Iran,” the Revolutionary Guards warned early on Sunday.
“The next slap will be more violent,” warned the new mural unveiled overnight in Palestine Square in Tehran, where a few thousand people gathered in the night shouting “Death to Israel” and “Death to America ".