Iran says Israel ‘in complete panic’ over Syria attack response

TEHRAN: An adviser to Iran’s supreme chief stated Saturday that Israel is panicking over a potential retaliatory response from Iran after a strike in Syria which killed members of its Revolutionary Guards.
“It has been per week that the Zionists are in full panic and are on alert,”
Yahya Rahim Safavi, senior adviser to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was quoted as saying by the ISNA information company.
“They do not know what Iran desires to do, in order that they and their supporters are terrified,” ISNA quoted him as saying.
Tehran has blamed Israel and vowed to avenge the April 1 air strike on Damascus that levelled the Iranian embassy’s consular annex, killing seven members of its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), together with two generals.
Following the strike, which Israel has not commented on, its military introduced a go away suspension. It additionally stated officers determined to extend manpower and draft reserve troopers to function air defences.
“This psychological, media and political battle is extra terrifying for them than the battle itself, as a result of they’re ready for an assault each night time and plenty of of them have fled and gone to shelters,” Safavi added.
Britain-based battle monitor the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights stated the April 1 strike killed 16 individuals. Among the many useless have been generals Mohammad Reza Zahedi and Mohammad Hadi Haji Rahimi who have been senior commanders within the Quds Pressure, the IRGC’s overseas operations arm.
Zahedi, 63, was essentially the most senior Iranian soldier killed since a United States missile strike at Baghdad airport in 2020 killed Quds Pressure chief Basic Qasem Soleimani.
The strike in Damascus occurred in opposition to the backdrop of the Gaza battle which started with Hamas’s October 7 assault on Israel which killed 1,170 individuals, principally civilians.
Tehran backs Hamas however has denied any direct involvement within the assault which triggered relentless bombardment and a floor invasion as Israel vowed to destroy Hamas.
The well being ministry within the Hamas-run Palestinian territory says a minimum of 33,686 individuals have been killed there throughout six months of battle.
Iran doesn’t recognise Israel, and the 2 international locations have fought a shadow battle for years.
The Islamic republic accuses Israel of getting carried out a wave of sabotage assaults and assassinations focusing on its nuclear programme.