Iran’s president Ebrahim Raisi has warned that the “tiniest invasion” by Israel would bring a “massive and harsh” response, as the region braces for potential Israeli retaliation after Iran’s attack over the weekend.
Speaking at an annual army parade, Raisi emphasized that Iran's recent attack on Israel demonstrates Israel's military, intelligence, and strategic failures.
The President of Iran said: "If the Zionist regime makes the slightest move to violate our territory and harm the national interests of the Islamic Republic, they must understand that they will face severe and heavy response."
Amid escalating tensions, Daniel Hagari, the spokesperson for the Israeli army, said that Iran had fired 110 ballistic missiles at Israel during the attack on Sunday, in addition to medium-range missiles and unmanned aircraft.
The Israeli army spokesperson, showing a video of a downed Iranian ballistic missile, added that each of these missiles carried 500 kilograms of explosives in their warheads.
Daniel Hagari said: "We're here with the body of one of the ballistic missiles that was launched from Iran directly to Israel. These ballistic missiles are ones that has 500 kilos of explosives in the warhead. We are talking about over 110 ballistic missiles coming from Iran aiming towards Israel. These are 60 tons of explosives directly to Israel."
Meanwhile, senior Israeli officials have once again warned that they will respond to the Iranian attack.
Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has blamed the Prime Minister and the government of Israel for exacerbating recent tensions in the Middle East.
Erdogan said: "Netanyahu is endangering the lives of both his own citizens and all the peoples of the region to extend his political life. This is an indisputable fact.”
This is while some members of the European Union have requested that sanctions on Tehran be increased in response to the Iranian attack.
Josep Borrell, the EU's high representative, said: "some member states propose the adoption of, expand the restrictive measures against Iran. Adopting an expansion of the restrictive measures against Iran. I will send to the External Action Service (EU's diplomatic service) the request to start the necessary work related to the sanctions."
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz commented on the Iranian attack, saying: "It was an unprecedented attack that is completely unjustified. An unprecedented escalation that worries many people. And that is why it is very important that everyone now contributes to ensuring that there is no further escalation in this situation.
The German Foreign Minister also warned of the potential expansion of conflicts in the Middle East and said that he would be traveling to Israel to prevent this risk.
Comment this post