Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Major General Mohammad Baqeri says the Islamic Republic’s retaliatory strikes on the Israeli-occupied territories manifested a high level of cooperation and interoperability between Iran’s Army and the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC).
Baqeri made the statement in a message to Army Chief Commander Major General Abdolrahim Mousavi ahead of the National Army Day on April 17.
In a multi-pronged attack, dubbed Operation True Promise, Iran launched late on April 13 hundreds of drones and missiles at the occupied territories in response to the regime's aggression on the Iranian diplomatic facilities in the Syrian capital of Damascus on April 1.
The Israeli airstrikes on Iran’s embassy compound in Damascus had killed two generals of the Quds Force of IRGC, Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Zahedi and General Mohammad Hadi Haji Rahimi, as well as five of their accompanying officers.
Baqeri praised the Iranian Army’s power of deterrence and defense capabilities against the country’s enemies over the years, and said the force has consolidated its standing as an “efficient, modern and powerful” army in the fields of ground, air, sea, defense and electronic warfare.
“The manifestation of such preparedness was the solidarity, cooperation and synergy of the Army with the IRGC during the historic and proud Operation True Promise in punishing the Zionist aggressor regime, which showed to the international community a new level of the defense power of the Islamic Republic of Iran’s Armed Forces,” Baqeri said.
In another message on the same occasion, IRGC’s Chief Commander Major General Hossein Salami congratulated the nation on the National Army Day and said the “brilliant” performance of the Army in cooperation with the IRGC forces in various missions has guaranteed the country's deterrence power.
Salami said the interoperability of the Army and IRGC serves as a "source of pride for Iran and Iranians," and is "enviable" for the enemies.
On April 13, the IRGC targeted the Israeli-occupied territories with a barrage of drones and missiles. The extent of the damage on Israeli military bases across the occupied territories is yet to be specified.
Following the reprisal, Iran warned Israel against taking any retaliatory actions and also urged the United States to try not to involve itself in the conflict and signaled that it viewed the matter as “concluded.”
President Ebrahim Raeisi said in a statement on Sunday, “If the Zionist regime or its supporters demonstrate reckless behavior, they will receive a decisive and much stronger response.”
Iran’s permanent mission to the United Nations also said in a statement that Tehran’s response to Israeli aggression was a “legitimate defense” in accordance with the UN Charter, warning Washington to “stay away” from the matter.