Iran’s supreme leader thanks armed forces for Israel attack

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has praised the recent operation by saying it demonstrated the country’s resolve

The latest attack on targets in Israel conducted by Iran’s armed forces has demonstrated the nation’s resolve, according to the Islamic Republic’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, as cited by IRNA news agency.

Speaking with a group of military commanders in the capital, Tehran on Sunday, Khamenei thanked the country’s armed forces for ‘Operation True Promise’, and urged the officers to pursue military innovation.

“Innovation in weapons and methods as well as knowledge of the enemy’s tactics must always be on the agenda,” he said.

Khamenei also thanked the families of the commanders, as well as soldiers of all ranks and police, highlighting the burdens their wives and children face.

Earlier this month, Tehran launched scores of drones and missiles at Israel, saying the attack was “punishment” for the bombing of the Iranian consulate in the Syrian capital, Damascus on April 1, killing 16 people, including two generals and several other senior officers of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Quds Force.

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Tehran blamed the attack on Israel, though West Jerusalem has neither confirmed nor denied its role in the bombing of the diplomatic mission. However, its responsibility was later hinted at by Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, who stated that Israel strikes its “enemies all over the Middle East.”

The latest escalation occurred earlier this week, when media reports emerged that Israel had struck targets across Iran. Several explosions were reportedly heard in the Iranian city of Isfahan. The country’s foreign minister, Hossein Amirabdollahian, played down the significance of the attack, saying it was minor in scale and involved primitive hardware.