KUALA LUMPUR – Iran has started retaliating against Israel as ballistic missiles were fired by the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) at the occupied Palestinian land targeting the Israeli regime yesterday, according to the Islamic Republic News Agency.
Iran’s IRGC said that its missiles have hit important military targets.
Video footage from different cities across Iran, including its capital Tehran, shows that several missiles were fired at the Zionist regime.
Across Iran, Tehran, Isfahan, Tabriz, Shiraz, Khorramabad, and Arak were among areas that have witnessed missiles launched into the sky.
In a statement, IRGC said the missile attack was a retaliation against Israel for the various assassinations they carried out and the crimes they did in Palestine and Lebanon.
“In response to the martyrdom of Ismail Haniyeh, Hassan Nasrallah, and IRGC commander Abbas Nilforushan, we targeted the heart of the occupied territories,” IRGC said.
The group warned Israel of a more severe retaliation if Israel responded to its attacks.
Meanwhile, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian stated that his country’s missile attack on Israel was based on legitimate rights against the Zionist regime’s aggression.
He also said the missile action last night was in defence of Iran’s interests and citizens.
“Let (Israeli leader Benjamin) Netanyahu know that Iran is not a warmongering country, but it stands firmly against any threat. This is only a glimpse of our power. Do not enter into a conflict with Iran,” Pezeshkian wrote on his X account.
“Iran’s legal, rational, and legitimate response to the terrorist acts of the Zionist regime – which involved targeting Iranian nationals and interests and infringing upon the national sovereignty of the Islamic Republic of Iran – has been duly carried out,” Iran’s permanent mission to the United Nations said in a statement.
“Should the Zionist regime dare to respond or commit further acts of malevolence, a subsequent and crushing response will ensue. Regional states and the Zionist supporters are advised to part ways with the regime,” it said.
Haniyeh was assassinated by Israel in Tehran after the Palestinian leader attended the swearing-in ceremony of Pezeshkian in July.
In a dangerous escalation last week, the Israeli military assassinated Nasrallah, Nilforushan, and other Hezbollah leaders – wiping out an entire densely populated southern Beirut neighbourhood by reportedly dropping 85 American bombs, each weighing 1,000kg.
Israel said Iran fired about 180 missiles but claimed that a large number of them were intercepted by its air defence systems.
Western countries, mostly muted on Israeli attacks across the region, were quick to condemn Iran’s attacks on Israeli military targets.
The US is sending more troops and warplanes to the Middle East to support Israel.
Israel has killed about 42,000 people in Gaza and more than 1,000 in Lebanon in less than 12 months. – October 2, 2024