Iran’s IRGC issued a chilling threat to Israel as Benjamin Netanyahu weighs up his country’s military response to the weekend attack.
On Saturday night, Iran fired more than 300 drones and missiles at Israel in retaliation to a strike that flattened the Iranian consulate in the Syrian capital Damascus in early April.
Israel has since vowed revenge for the unprecedented Iranian barrage, with the IDF army chief Herzi Halevi telling reporters that Iran’s attacks over the weekend “will be met with a response”.
US President Joe Biden and other leaders have all called for restraint amid fears that the conflict could rapidly escalate.
Iran’s notorious IRGC has now issued a defiant response to Israel and the West, daring Mr Netanyahu to attack.
A video shared on social media channels shows Iranian air defenses preparing for an aerial response from the Israeli military.
The mock footage shows IRGC troops firing missiles that take down the Israeli missiles mid-flight.
The video adds a chilling message to Iran’s enemies: “We have been waiting for this for many years. Our air defense is waiting. Our radars are under close surveillance. We will fight fire with fire.”
Ali Bagheri, Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister, said that Iran would not again issue warnings like those issued in the run-up to Saturday’s attack.
He said: “If Israel attacks us – our response will be immediate, and this time, we will not allow Israel to prepare for it for 12 days.”
Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi added his country would react to the slightest action against Iran’s interests with a “severe, extensive and painful response”.
President Raisi defended Iran’s response, saying it had targeted Israeli bases it said were used to carry out a deadly strike on its consulate in the Syrian capital Damascus.
Overnight, US officials disclosed that Israel‘s response to Iran’s attacks is expected to be “limited in scope”.
According to NBC, the options could include striking inside Syria.
Three US officials do not expect the response to target senior Iranian officials but to instead strike shipments or storage facilities with advanced missile parts, weapons or components that are sent from Iran to Hezbollah.
Meanwhile, Rishi Sunak is facing cross-party pressure to proscribe Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist group.
Tyler Mitchell