(Tehran) The head of the Iranian armed forces said Sunday that the attack carried out overnight against Israel had “achieved all its objectives”, specifying that no urban or economic center had been targeted by Iranian drones and missiles .
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“Operation Honest Promise was successfully carried out between last night and this morning, and achieved all its objectives,” General Mohammad Bagheri said on television.
He claimed that the two sites primarily targeted had been “the intelligence center that provided the Zionists with the information necessary” for the strike that destroyed the Iranian consulate in Damascus on 1er April, as well as “the Novatim air base, from which the F-35 planes took off” which bombed it.
“These two centers were considerably damaged and put out of service,” he assured.
We have no intention of continuing this operation, but if the Zionist regime takes action against the Islamic Republic of Iran, whether on our soil or in the centers belonging to us in Syria or elsewhere, our next operation will be much more important than this.
General Mohammad Bagheri, head of the Iranian armed forces
General Bagheri also indicated that the Iranian authorities had “sent a message to the United States warning that if they cooperate with Israel in their possible next actions, their bases will not be safe”.
PHOTO MAJID ASGARIPOUR, WANA VIA REUTERS
Iranians demonstrated after the attack on Israel during a rally outside the British embassy in Tehran on April 14.
The United States has several military bases in the region.
This message was transmitted via the Swiss embassy, which represents American interests in Iran in the absence of diplomatic relations between the two countries.
Also interviewed on state television, the commander of the Revolutionary Guards, Hossein Salami, indicated that the operation carried out during the night “could have been on a larger scale”.
“We limited this operation to the services that the Zionist regime used to attack our embassy” in Syria.
The strike on the consulate killed seven members of the Guardians, including two high-ranking officers.
Virtual summit of G7 leaders this Sunday
The heads of state and government of the G7 will meet by videoconference early Sunday afternoon “to discuss the Iranian attack against Israel,” announced the Italian government, which currently chairs this group of industrialized countries.
“The Italian presidency of the G7 convened a video conference at leader level today early in the afternoon,” the Italian government said in a brief press release.
“We are working to prevent there from being an even stronger military crisis,” Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani told public broadcaster Rai3.
“The G7 will send messages to Israel, the greatest caution is necessary to prevent the situation from getting worse,” “while last night’s Iranian retaliation could start a dangerous spiral,” he added.
In addition to Italy, the G7 includes the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Germany and Japan among its members.
The Security Council is also due to hold an emergency meeting on Sunday, with UN chief Antonio Guterres condemning “a serious escalation”.