Iran demonstrated power during operation against Israel: Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei

Amid heightened tensions with Israel, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on Sunday boasted about the recent attack on the Benjamin Netyanhu-led country.

Thanking Iran’s armed forces, Khamenei said that the country had demonstrated its power regardless of how many targets were hit. “How many missiles were launched and how many of them hit their target is not the primary question, what really matters is that Iran demonstrated its power during that operation,” said Khamenei, reported Iran’s official news agency.

“In the recent operation, the armed forces managed to minimise costs and maximise gains,” Khamenei added, urging military officials to “ceaselessly pursue military innovation and learn the enemy’s tactics”.

On April 13, Iran launched its first ever direct attack on Israel. Iranian forces attacked with more than 300 missiles and drones, as a retaliation after claiming that Israel killed its officials in the Damascus embassy. Several officials including a senior commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps’ overseas Quds Force were killed in an airstrike on April 1 while they were attending a meeting in the Damascus embassy compound.

During the April 13 attack, Israel’s defence system prevented massive damage as most of the Iranian missiles and drones were shot down. Israel received support from its ally, the United States.

Having attacked Israel, Iran then warned the country from escalating the conflict further and said the matter should be deemed concluded.

However, despite international pressure on Israel to not attack Iran, on Friday, explosions echoed over the Iranian city of Isfahan in what sources said was an Israeli attack. Tehran played down the incident and said it had no plans for retaliation – a response that appeared gauged towards averting a full-blown war and massive unrest in the Middle East region.