Iran has warned that it will respond more forcefully if Israel retaliates for this weekend's attacks, which Tehran says were themselves a response to an Israeli attack earlier this month on its embassy compound in Damascus, the capital. from Syria.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran will not hesitate to exercise its inherent right of self-defense when necessary,” Iran's ambassador and permanent representative to the UN, Amir Saeid Iravani, said in a statement.
If the Israeli regime were to commit any military aggression again, Iran's response will surely and decisively be stronger and more resolute,” Ambassador Iravani added.
Citing self-defense against repeated Israeli military aggression, Iravani said the attacks were specifically in retaliation for an April 1 Israeli attack on what Iran says were diplomatic facilities in Damascus.
Iran claims the attack violated international law and led to the deaths of seven Iranian military advisers, including key commanders of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps.
The statement also criticizes the United Nations Security Council for “failing to defend international peace,” allowing Israel to “violate” established international norms and “intensify” regional tensions.
Additional context: Israel has carried out numerous attacks against Iranian-backed targets in Syria, often targeting arms shipments supposedly destined for Hezbollah, a powerful Iranian proxy in Lebanon.
Israel has not claimed responsibility for the April 1 attack that destroyed the Iranian consulate building in the capital Damascus, including Mohammed Reza Zahedi, a senior Revolutionary Guard commander.
However, an Israel Defense Forces spokesperson told CNN that their intelligence showed the building was not a consulate but “a Quds Force military building disguised as a civilian building.”
