April 14, 2024 12:31 a.m. ET
Iran warns of 'stronger and more decisive' response if Israel retaliates after recent attacks
From CNN's Alireza Hadjihosseini and Eyad Kurdi
Amir Cohen/Reuters
Iran has warned that it will respond more forcefully if Israel retaliates for this weekend's attack, which Tehran says is in line with an Israeli attack on Israeli embassy facilities in the Syrian capital Damascus earlier this month. He claimed that it was in retaliation.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran will not hesitate to exercise its inherent right of self-defense if necessary,” Iranian Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations Amir Saeed Iravani said in a statement.
In the event of another military invasion by the Israeli regime, Iran's response will be firmer and more decisive,” Ambassador Irabani added.
Citing self-defense against repeated Israeli military aggression, Irabani said the attack was specifically in retaliation for the April 1 Israeli attack on what Iran claims is a diplomatic compound in Damascus.
Iran claims the attack violated international law and led to the deaths of seven Iranian military advisers, including a key commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps.
The statement also criticizes the UN Security Council for “failing to maintain international peace” and for “violating” established international norms and “intensifying” tensions in the region.
Additional context: Israel has carried out numerous attacks against Iranian-backed targets in Syria, many of them targeting weapons shipments allegedly destined for Hezbollah, Iran's powerful proxy group in Lebanon.
Israel has not claimed responsibility for the April 1 attack that destroyed Iran's general consulate in the capital Damascus, including the head of the Revolutionary Guards, Mohamed Reza Zahedi.
However, an IDF spokesperson told CNN that IDF intelligence revealed that the building was not a consulate but “a military installation of the Quds Force disguised as a civilian building.”