Islam Times - Iran’s FM: We Targeted “Israeli” Military Bases, Not to Hesitate To Protect National Interests

Iran’s FM: We Targeted “Israeli” Military Bases, Not to Hesitate To Protect National Interests

Islam Times - Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein AmirAbdollahian confirmed that the Islamic Republic’s retaliatory strikes on the “Israeli” entity 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 entity’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 Palestinian 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 entity’s F-35 aircraft carried out aggression on the building of Iran’s Embassy in Damascus,” AmirAbdollahian 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 ‘Israel’,” AmirAbdollahian said.

He further stated that “Being limited in legitimate defense and punishing the Zionist entity means that we did not define any civilian targets in our response.”

“Our armed forces did not target any economic or population location, even in the attack on the military base where the Zionist entity’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.

In a post on his X social media account, AmirAbdollahian 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.”

Iran hit a large intelligence base in the occupied lands and “Israel’sNevatim” Airbase, from where an F-35 jet took off to target Iran’s consulate in Damascus.