Iran warns Israel of retaliation, drawing parallels to 1981 Iraq invasion
- In Reports
- 04:54 PM, Oct 04, 2024
- Myind Staff
Iran's Ambassador to India, Iraj Elahi, said on Friday that the recent missile strike on Israel was intended to bring stability to the Middle East. He also warned that Iran would respond if attacked. In an interview with India Today, Elahi emphasised that Iran is no longer the same as it was in 1981 when Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein invaded and occupied parts of the country.
"The war now is a war of technology. This time we learnt from our first operation in April and used new-generation missiles. We will deploy another generation of our missiles if Israel attacks us," said he.
Iran launched 200 missiles at Israel on October 1 in retaliation for the assassination of top Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran and the death of Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah. Following an attack on its consulate in Syria in April, Iran also launched ballistic missiles towards Israel; however, the majority of them were shot down. Israel has threatened to retaliate, escalating fears of a full-scale conflict in the unrest-plagued Middle East. There is much conjecture that Israel may attack Iran's nuclear or military targets.
The Iranian ambassador emphasised that Iran had achieved self-sufficiency in defence and stated that Israel would not undertake any significant actions that would incite an even greater Iranian retaliation. "They will not do anything forcing Iran to react. Iran has reached self-sufficiency to defend itself. We hope Israel's adviser or the US can convince Israel not to attack our nuclear facilities," he added.
The Benjamin Netanyahu government claimed that the recent attack from Tehran had little effect, but the Iranian envoy claimed that it had seriously damaged Tel Aviv's military installations. "The missile attack by Iran has pushed the Middle East region towards stability. The intention of Iran was deterrence," Elahi said.
The Iranian ambassador referred to Israel as an "occupying power" and claimed that Israel's military might be impacted by its attacks on its air bases. Additionally, he asserted that the renowned "Iron Dome" of Israel was unable to halt Iranian missiles. "Iran's strikes have damaged the military capability of this illegal and illegitimate regime to invade and strike Gaza more," he said. Elahi said that Israel had simply learned the "language of force" and criticised the Benjamin Netanyahu government for its disregard for morality and human values in the course of bombing the Gaza Strip in Hamas war.
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