Iran hails 'success' of attack on Israel during military parade

TEHRAN

Iran celebrated the "success" of its weekend drone and missile attack on Israel as it staged an annual military parade on Wednesday.

The Islamic republic launched its first-ever direct attack on Israel on Saturday in response to an April 1 air strike on its consulate in Damascus which has been widely blamed on Israel.

The operation dubbed Honest Promise "brought down the glory of the Zionist regime (Israel)", President Ebrahim Raisi said at a military base on the outskirts of Tehran.

"This operation showed that our armed forces are ready," he said in a speech addressed to the regular army and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Wednesday's parade saw the Iranian armed forces showcase a range of military equipment including drones and long-range ballistic missiles.

Israel has vowed to respond to the weekend attack, with military spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari saying Iran would not get off "scot-free".

Raisi on Wednesday reiterated warnings against "the slightest act of aggression" by Israel, saying it would lead to "a fierce and severe response".

The Israeli army said the vast majority of the projectiles fired by Iran were shot down — with the help of the United States and other allies — and that the attack caused only minimal damage.

Iran insists the attack was limited and carried out in "self-defence" following the strike on its consulate in the Syrian capital.

The strike levelled the five-storey consular annex of the Iranian embassy in Damascus and killed seven Revolutionary Guards, two of them generals.

In his speech, Raisi also hit out at countries that had "sought to normalise relations" with Israel.

"These countries are now humiliated in front of their own people which constitutes a strategic failure for the regime" of Israel, he added.

In 2020, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Morocco normalised relations with Israel as part of the U.S.-brokered Abraham Accords, vehemently criticised by the Palestinians.

Egypt and Jordan signed peace accords with Israel in 1979 and 1994, respectively.