Iran's top military commanders have labeled Sunday night's aerial bombardment on Israel a “success" in spite of the fact that 99 percent of the 350 or more projectiles failed to reach Israeli territory.
The Iranian Armed Forces Chief of Staff, Major General Mohammad Bagheri, said that the operation, launched as a retaliatory attack following Israel's alleged airstrike on the Iranian consulate in Damascus this month, was finished, the goals achieved.
Bagheri also revealed that Tehran has issued a warning to the United States via the Swiss embassy.
“If the US joins the Zionists' next aggression through its bases or military bases in the region and this becomes certain, then America's regional bases, personnel, and facilities will not be secure in the region,” Bagheri warned.
In the face of the humiliating failure of Iran's first ever direct hit on Israel, Hossein Salami, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard chief commander, also alleged that the attack had been a success “beyond expectations.”
Interceptions were carried out across the region before ballistic missiles, suicide drones and cruise missiles reached Israeli territory, a joint effort between Israel and its allies the US, UK, France and Jordan. A seven-year-old Bedouin girl has been injured by shrapnel in southern Israel however, from a direct hit which caused minimal damage to Nevatim Air Base which was fully operational within hours. No other casualties are known.
Iran’s attack came after top level calls for retaliation for the Damascus consulate attack which killed one of Iran's most high-ranking members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard, along with several other officers.
