Iran’s retaliatory strikes only targeted Israeli military sites: Amir-Abdollahian

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian says the Islamic Republic’s retaliatory strikes on the Israel-occupied territories were “limited” and that no non-military sites were targeted in the operation.

Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) targeted Israel late on Saturday with a barrage of drones and missiles in response to the regime’s deadly assault on the consular section of the Iranian Embassy in Damascus on April 1.

The retaliatory attack, dubbed Operation True Promise, has inflicted damage on Israeli military bases across the occupied territories, but the extent of which is yet to be specified. 

“In this operation, the armed forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran, with accurate calculations and using drones and guided missiles, targeted the military base where the Zionist regime’s F-35 aircraft carried out aggression on the building of Iran’s Embassy in Damascus,” Amir-Abdollahian said in a conference meeting with foreign ambassadors in the capital Tehran on Sunday.

The top Iranian diplomat underlined that the US administration had been informed of the strikes on Israel and that the retaliation was aimed to punish the occupying entity.

“We sent a message early this morning to the White House and stated that this was a limited operation with minimum force only to secure our rights on legitimate defense and to punish the Israeli regime,” Amir-Abdollahian said.

“Being limited in legitimate defense and punishing the Zionist regime means that we did not define any civilian targets in our response,” he added.

“Our armed forces did not target any economic or population location, even in the attack on the military base where the Zionist regime's operation center against the Islamic Republic of Iran embassy in Damascus was located, the necessary care was taken to deal with and respond to the Zionist regime.”

The Iranian foreign minister also stressed that the Islamic Republic has never been seeking tensions in the region and has shown restraint for the past six months in the face of Israeli crimes in the besieged Gaza Strip.

Hamas hails Iran’s retaliation as ‘natural right, deserved response’

The Palestinian resistance movement Hamas has praised as a “natural right and a deserved response” Iran’s retaliatory strikes against Israel.

‘Iran will not hesitate to protect its interests’

In a post on his X social media account, Amir-Abdollahian said Iran favors regional and international peace but will not hesitate to safeguard its legitimate interests against any acts of aggression.

“Exercising the right of legitimate defense shows Iran's responsible approach to regional and international peace and security,” he wrote in a Persian-language tweet.

“At this point, the Islamic Republic of Iran has no intention of continuing defensive operations, but if necessary, it will not hesitate to protect its legitimate interests against any new aggression.”

The Israeli attack on Iran's diplomatic facilities in Syria resulted in the martyrdom of Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Zahedi, a commander of the IRGC's Quds Force, his deputy, General Mohammad Hadi Haji Rahimi, and five of their accompanying officers.

The terrorist attack drew categorical condemnation from senior Iranian political and military leaders, who vowed "definitive revenge."

During a speech in Tehran on Wednesday after leading the Eid al-Fitr prayers, Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei said the Israeli regime “must be punished and will be punished” for the deadly strike on the Iranian diplomatic premises.

The international community also condemned the Israeli aggression on the Iranian consulate in Damascus’s Mezzeh district.

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