JERUSALEM (AP) – Iran's supreme leader on Sunday dismissed debate over whether Tehran's unprecedented drone and missile attack on Israel hit anything on the ground and launched a major offensive. Despite this, it was tacitly acknowledged that very few projectiles actually reached their targets.
Khamenei's comments in front of senior military officials were not mentioned. Obvious Israeli retaliatory attack Air defense forces opened fire on Friday in the central city of Isfahan, even as Iran grounded civilian aircraft in much of the country.
Analysts believe Iran and Israel, two of the region's biggest rivals who have been locked in a shadow war for years, are trying to de-escalate tensions following a series of escalating attacks between the two countries. israel-hamas war Violence in the Gaza Strip has intensified, setting the wider region on fire.
Khamenei, 85, made the comments at a meeting attended by leaders of Iran's regular army, police and the paramilitary Revolutionary Guards, a powerful force within the Shiite theocracy.
“The other side's arguments about how many missiles were fired, how many hit the target and how many did not hit are of secondary importance,” Khamenei said in remarks broadcast on state television. Stated.
“The main issue is the emergence of the will of the Iranian state and Iranian military in important international arenas. This is what matters.”
In the April 13 attack, Iran fired hundreds of drones, ballistic missiles and cruise missiles in an attempt to overwhelm Israel's air defenses. It was the first attack on Israel by a foreign power since Iraq's dictatorship. Saddam Hussein fires Scud missiles at Israel in the 1991 Gulf War.
But Israel's air defenses and fighter jets, supported by the United States, Britain, and neighboring Jordan, shot down the majority About the incoming fire.
An Associated Press analysis of satellite images on Saturday found that Iranian attack caused only minor damage This included taking out part of the taxiway at Nevatim Air Base in southern Israel, which Israel quickly repaired.
The Iranian attack came in response to an attack attributed to Israel that targeted a consulate next to the Iranian embassy in Damascus, Syria, on April 1. Killed two guard generals..
“Praise be to Allah that today, thanks to the work of our armed forces, Revolutionary Guards, armed forces and police, each in their own way, the image of our country has become admirable all over the world.” added Khamenei. Iran faces public anger over its economy and crackdown on opposition.
In other developments, Iraqi security forces in the western Nineveh province late Sunday said they were searching for “outlaw elements” who fired missiles across the border into Syria, targeting a US-led coalition base.・Media Cell reported.
Search teams found and destroyed the missile launcher, the statement added.
No group immediately claimed responsibility for the reported attacks.
Maj. Gen. Tahseen al-Khafaji, head of the Security Media Cell, said about five missiles were fired across the border, but it was unclear whether they hit the target base or caused any damage. Stated.
U.S. officials did not comment on whether U.S. facilities were specifically targeted. An official said coalition fighters destroyed the launch pad in self-defense after reports of a failed rocket attack near a coalition base in Rumarin, Syria. No U.S. military personnel were injured, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity as details have not yet been released.
Two nights ago, An explosion occurred at a Popular Mobilization Forces base in Iraq.The attack, carried out by a coalition of Iranian-allied militias, left one person dead and eight injured.
Militia authorities initially blamed the explosion on the Kars military base north of Babylon as an airstrike and blamed it on the U.S. military. U.S. Central Command has denied airstrikes in Iraq, and Iraq's Security Media Cell said the country's air defense command had not detected any drones or fighter jets near Babylon before or during the explosion. .
PMF is specified as follows: “Independent military organization” within the Iraqi army.
In recent months, some coalition affiliates have been accused of carrying out attacks on U.S. forces based in the area in retaliation for U.S. support for Israel in its war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. There is. Those attacks were called off in late January after an attack on a Jordanian base near the Syrian border killed three U.S. soldiers and prompted retaliatory U.S. attacks on Iraq.
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Associated Press writer Tara Kopp in Washington contributed to this report.
