Iranian Officials Insist On Success Of Israel Attack, Boasting Victory

Iranian government and military officials are doubling-down on their narrative that Sunday’s attack on Israel was a great success.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) launched 170 drones, more than 30 cruise missiles and more than 120 ballistic missiles – 99% of which were intercepted by Israel and its allies.

In the days since the unprecedented attack, several politicians have spoken out in support of the military action against Tel Aviv.

That included Esmail Kosari, a parliamentarian who sits on the National Security Committee, who justified the operation and framed it as a "legitimate defense against Israel”.

“The news, information, and documentation of the amount of damage we caused to Israel will be made known to the people so that the people of Iran will be informed about the details of the relevant information," Kosari said.

Israel has reported that damages sustained by the attack were limited to minor damage of its air base in Nevatim.

Reports also suggest that a 7-year-old girl from a Bedouin community in Israel suffered a head injury, potentially due to shrapnel from an intercepted ballistic missile falling directly on her home.

Support for Tehran’s military operation also came from so-called reformist journalists, one of whom warned against “internal dissent” and echoed the IRGC’s narrative of the event, criticizing those who dispute the effectiveness of the operation.

“Unfortunately, some inside the country have become defenders of the devil…they promote and reproduce 99 percent of the Israeli narrative,” Mashallah Shamsolvaezin said.

Threats Of Harsher Retaliation

The rhetoric from Iranian officials also included warnings directed at Israel and the United States.

The government’s parliamentary speaker, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, warned Israel of "harsher responses".

Meanwhile, the Army’s Commander-in-Chief Abdolrahim Mousavi, threatened heavier retaliation “if Israel persists in its actions”.

Mousavi also threatened Washington to steer clear from using its bases in any retaliation, saying that "they will be considered operational targets and will be targeted".

The Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei's representative in the northwestern province of Khorasan, reinforced these warnings by invoking the possibility of devastating retaliatory measures.

Other Iranian figures such as Sadegh Amoli Larijani, Chairman of the Islamic Republic’s Expediency Council, and Iraj Masjidi, a senior adviser to the commander of the IRGC, insisted on the “failure of Israeli defenses” to deter Iranian missiles, boasting Iran's confidence in its military capabilities.

Parliamentarian Jalil Rahimi Jahanabadi, another member of the National Security Committee, further claimed that "in order to achieve peace, one must stand against the tyrant and the aggressor."

Mahmoud Abbaszadeh Meshkini, another parliamentarian, dismissed Israel's capabilities in fighting against the Islamic Republic saying that Israel is not capable of doing anything against Iran’s national interests.

“They just pretended to fight back," he said.

"I think it is unlikely that Israel will hit our civilian sites, not even our military sites," said parliamentarian Abbas Golrou.

Golrou also expressed skepticism about an all-out war with Israel – suggesting that neither Iran nor the US desire that kind of conflict.