The Israeli Foreign Ministry has responded to Saturday’s Iranian attack by condemning Tehran as the “greatest threat” to regional and world peace.
Iran should be hit with “painful sanctions,” as well as designation of its elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organization, following the overnight attack, the ministry said on Sunday in a statement. Tehran launched hundreds of suicide drones and missiles at Israel in retaliation for an April 1 airstrike that killed seven IRGC officers at the Iranian consulate in Damascus.
“Iran launched a large-scale and unprecedented attack against the state of Israel, which included hundreds of drones, cruise missiles and ballistic missiles,” the Foreign Ministry said. “This attack once again proves what Israel has been saying for years: Iran is behind terrorist attacks in the region and is also the greatest threat to regional stability and world order, which is why Iran should never acquire nuclear weapons.”
New sanctions against Iran should not be limited to the country’s missile industry, the ministry said. “Iran must pay the price for its aggression, and the first step in this direction must be immediate recognition of the Iranian IRGC – which carried out this large-scale terrorist attack against Israel – as a terrorist organization.”
Foreign Minister Israel Katz resuscitated an old phrase coined by former US President George W. Bush to express his outrage, saying, “The entire free world must stand with Israel against the axis of Iranian evil.”
Israel may be trying to use a diplomatic offensive to punish Iran after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was reportedly urged by US President Joe Biden to cancel retaliatory strikes against Tehran. At Biden’s request, Netanyahu chose to reject calls from some members of his war cabinet for an immediate military response, the New York Times reported, citing two unidentified Israeli officials.
Iran’s diplomatic mission to the UN justified Saturday’s attack by citing its legitimate right of self-defense under Article 51 of the global body’s charter. “The matter can be deemed concluded,” the mission said in a statement, referring to the retribution for Israel’s strike against its Damascus consulate.
Tehran has no intention of taking further action, Major General Mohammad Bagheri, chief of staff for Iran’s military, said on Sunday. However, he warned that if Israel strikes again in response to Saturday’s attack, “the next operation will be much more extensive.”
The Israeli military claimed that 99% of the more than 300 drones and missiles launched from Iranian territory were successfully intercepted. The few that got through Israel’s defenses caused only minor infrastructure damage at the Nevatim Airbase. Only one person, a ten-year-old Bedouin Israeli girl, was injured.