 "'Blood for blood': Iran vows tit-for-tat strike against Israel")
In what appeared to be its first official response, the Iranian military vowed to retaliate against the Israeli strikes that hit the country’s nuclear and military facilities. As the world woke up to the news of the attack, Iran’s Armed Forces have vowed a “heavy price” for Israel, describing it as a ‘Zionist state’.
Brigadier General Abolfazl Shekarchi, spokesperson for the Iranian Armed Forces, told state television on Friday morning that the strikes hit the residential areas of Tehran as well. He made it clear that the Islamic Republic of Iran is “fully prepared” for a retaliatory strike and will respond decisively to what he called a “savage and calculated assault” supported by the United States.
“The Zionist enemy, with the assistance of the US, has launched a brutal attack on civilian homes and key officials’ residences,” General Shekarchi said. “This reckless aggression has resulted in the martyrdom of several of our commanders and civilians. Israel has made a dire mistake and must now wait for a tough response," he added.
The Iranian military official’s remarks came after the Iranian media, including IRIB and IRNA, reported that General Hossein Salami, the commander-in-chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), was killed in one of the targeted attacks on Thursday.
While official confirmation from Iran is still pending, multiple outlets have stated that General Gholam Ali Rashid and prominent nuclear scientists Dr. Fereydoon Abbasi and Dr. Tehranchi are among the possible casualties.
The first hint of retaliation
In the first signs of counterstrikes, Israel said that Iran had launched 100 drones towards Israel and that its air defences were intercepting them outside Israeli territory. Soon after the incident, neighbouring Jordan said its air force and defence systems had intercepted several missiles and drones that had entered its airspace, raising concerns about a conflict spillover.
The Iranian leadership vowed both a military and diplomatic response, saying women and children had been killed in the strikes across Iran. In a furious statement, the Iranian government accused Israel of terrorism and insisted the attack demonstrated it “does not adhere to any international rules or laws and, like a drunkard, openly and brazenly engages in terror and ignites the flames of war before the eyes of the world, including westerners who claim to uphold human rights and international law."
Impact Shorts
More Shorts“Starting a war with Iran is playing with the lion’s tail,” the statement added. The statement also argued why the country would now be trying to assemble a nuclear bomb in the face of Israel’s attacks, the statement further said: “The world now better understands Iran’s insistence on the right to enrichment, nuclear technology and missile power, and the enemy has made it possible to prove our injustice and righteousness, who is the aggressor and which regime is threatening the security of the region." The world will now be looking at how Iran will response to the Israeli attack.
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