On Sunday, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi warned that the terrorist nation would have a “stronger response” if Israel dared to retaliate after Iran’s airstrikes on the Jewish state.
Iran launched its first-ever direct attack on Israel on Saturday, sending over 300 drones and missiles into Israeli territory and ramping up the ongoing hostilities in the Middle East.
Israel’s defenses, with the help of the United States and Jordan, were able to intercept roughly 99% of the airstrikes, according to Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari.
NEW: Israel releases footage of them, with help from the US, UK and Jordan, intercepting 99% of all drones & missiles launched at them during last night’s attack.
According to U.S. officials, the U.S. intercepted 70 drones and three ballistic missiles.
In total, about 170… pic.twitter.com/dQhr10vXkM
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) April 14, 2024
The attack was in response to a deadly airstrike against Iran’s consulate building in Damascus, Syria, on April 1 that was reportedly committed by Israel amid the ongoing war between the Jewish state and Iran-supported Hamas terrorists in Gaza.
Iran’s historic attack on Israel came after the terrorist nation issued several threats against Israel and even went so far as to threaten the United States to dissuade the Biden administration from aiding Israel.
In a statement on Sunday, Raisi continued to make threats against Israel — declaring that any supposed “reckless behavior” from what he called “the Zionist regime” will lead to “a decisive and much stronger response.”
The Iranian president wasn’t the only one to issue threats, as Major General Mohammad Hossein Bagheri — the chief of staff of the Iranian armed forces — told state media that his country’s response “will be much larger than tonight’s military action if Israel retaliates against Iran.”
He further explained that the Iranian government had communicated threats to the U.S. through the Swiss Embassy, telling the Biden administration that any support for Israel’s potential retaliation against Iran would prompt the terrorist nation to target U.S. military bases in the region.
“If the U.S. participates in the next aggressive actions by [Israel] through the bases it has in the [Middle East] region or the military facilities it has in the region and this information is confirmed for us, its bases in the region will not be safe,” Bagheri said.
Meanwhile, it appears that Israel is gearing up to retaliate against Iran for the attack, according to Benny Gantz, a member of Israel’s unity government and war cabinet.
“We will build a regional coalition and exact the price from Iran in the fashion and timing that is right for us,” Gantz wrote in a statement, according to Reuters.