It is only natural that Iran responded to Israel's recent attack by firing about 180 ballistic missiles at the Holy Land, Iranian officials said this week in defense of the attack.
Firing the missiles was a "legal" attack in response to Israel's "terror attacks" in recent months that left numerous senior Hamas, Hezbollah and Iranian officials dead, the Iranian government said about its self-defense efforts.
The missile attack struck various targets throughout central Israel, including at a site located near the Mossad headquarters on the northern outskirts of Tel Aviv. It remains unknown if there was any substantial damage from the attack as Israel is staying tight-lipped about the incident.
According to Iranian state television, 80 percent of the missiles launched at Israel hit their intended targets. However, the Israeli military (IDF) has banned all local and independent media outlets operating in Israel from publishing details about the exact locations of the missile hits.
Only two people were lightly wounded by shrapnel in Tel Aviv, Israel claims, downplaying the attack. One man, a 38-year-old Palestinian, is said to have died from shrapnel wounds in Jericho, located in the occupied West Bank.
(Related: Be sure to check out our earlier coverage to learn more about these latest tensions between Israel and Iran.)
Iran's supreme leader praises attack
Iran is insistent that the decision to fire these roughly 180 rockets was a "legal, rational, and legitimate response to the terrorist attacks of the Zionist regime, which involved the targeting of Iranian nationals and interests and infringing on the national sovereignty of Iran."
Should Israel "dare to respond or commit further acts of malevolence, a subsequent and crushing response will ensue," added the Iranian mission at the United Nations.
"Regional states and the Zionists' supporters are advised to part ways with the regime."
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's supreme leader, praised Iran's attack on Israel, calling it a blessing from above.
"With God's help, the blows of the uprising front will become stronger and more painful on the worn and rotting body of the Zionist regime," he said.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) says Iran fired the missiles in response to Israel's killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh earlier this year, as well as the killings of Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah and IRGC commander Abbas Nilforoushan.
"In response to the martyrdom of Ismail Haniyeh, Hassan Nasrallah and Nilforoushan, we targeted the heart of the occupied territories," the IRGC said in a statement, adding that if Israel retaliates, Tehran's response will be "more crushing and ruinous."
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian likewise celebrated the Iranian attack on Israel, calling it "a decisive response to the aggression of the Zionist regime."
"Let Netanyahu know that Iran is not a belligerent, but it stands firmly against any threat," Pezeshkian added. "Do not enter into a conflict with Iran."
Many in Iran feel as though their leaders made a strategic mistake by not responding sooner with an attack following Israel's killing of Haniyeh back in July. Haniyeh, after all, had played a key role in ceasefire talks for Gaza before Israel offed him as part of its killing crusade.
Amir Hossein Sabeti of the Iranian parliament says Pezeshkian was "deceived by America" in how he responded to Haniyeh's killing. Sabeti also blamed Pezeshkian for facilitating Nasrallah's assassination by disobeying the supreme leader's orders concerning retaliation following Haniyeh's killing.
"If Iran is to respond to Israel, it must consider pursuing an atomic bomb," said a former conservative Iranian MP to the media, adding that Israel is a "rabid dog" that "must be controlled."
"If Iran and Israel wish to ignite the region, then Iran should work towards developing nuclear capabilities."
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