[News] Iran says missile attack against Israel was 'legal, rational and legitimate'

[Anti-Imperialist News]

middleeasteye.net
<https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/iran-says-missile-attack-israel-legal-rational-legitimate>
Iran says missile attack against Israel was 'legal, rational and legitimate'
By MEE staff
October 2, 2024
------------------------------

Iran <https://www.middleeasteye.net/countries/iran> defended its decision
to fire a barrage of missiles at Israel
<https://www.middleeasteye.net/countries/israel> on Tuesday, calling it a
"legal" response to Israeli "terror attacks" following the killing of
several senior Hamas, Hezbollah and Iranian officials in recent months.

Missiles could be seen streaming through the skies over Tel Aviv and
Jerusalem late on Tuesday, before the deafening sound of large explosions
rang out.

Videos seen by Middle East Eye showed an apparent missile exploding in the
vicinity of the Mossad headquarters on the northern outskirts of Tel Aviv.
It was unclear if there was any damage as a result.

A number of impact sites were identified across central Israel, with dozens
of images of missile fragments circulating on social media. Iran's state
television said 80 percent of the missiles launched at Israel hit their
targets. MEE could not independently verify the claims.

Israel's military censor has barred local and international media outlets
operating in the country from publishing details on the exact locations of
the impact sites.

Despite the hundreds of missiles being fired, the only injuries reported by
Israel were two people who were lightly wounded by shrapnel in Tel Aviv.
The Palestinian news agency Wafa, citing the civil defence, said a
38-year-old Palestinian man died from shrapnel wounds in Jericho in the
occupied West Bank.

<https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/iran-launches-massive-attack-israel>

Iran launches wave of missiles at Israel


Following the attacks, the Iranian mission at the UN said the decision to
fire around 180 missiles at Israel 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."

It said that should Israel "dare to respond or commit further acts of
malevolence, a subsequent and crushing response will ensue… Regional states
and the Zionists' supporters are advised to part ways with the regime."

Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, also praised the attack,
calling
<https://www.middleeasteye.net/live-blog/live-blog-update/irans-supreme-leader-praises-attack-blow-zionist-regime?nid=394896&topic=Israel%2527s%2520war%2520on%2520Gaza&fid=532396>
it
the first blow against Israel.

"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.

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said the missiles were
fired in response to the killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh earlier
this year, and the killings of Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah and IRGC
commander Abbas Nilforoushan last week.

"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.

Earlier on Tuesday, the IRGC said that if Israel retaliated, Tehran's
response would be "more crushing and ruinous."

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian also hailed the attack, calling it "a
decisive response to the aggression of the Zionist regime," adding: "Let
Netanyahu know that Iran is not a belligerent, but it stands firmly against
any threat."

"Do not enter into a conflict with Iran," he said.
Israel warns of retaliation

Iran's decision to fire the missiles at Israel reflects a growing consensus
inside Iran that its decision not to mount a military reprisal after the
assassination of Haniyeh in Tehran in July was a strategic mistake.

MEE reported at the time Haniyeh, a veteran Hamas official who had played a
key role in talks for a potential ceasefire in Gaza
<https://www.middleeasteye.net/topics/israel-war-gaza>, was killed by a
projectile fired at his room.

Pezeshkian said he did not respond to Haniyeh's death because he had been
given assurances that Israel was on the verge of signing a ceasefire deal
within a week or two. No such deal occurred.

Earlier this week, Amir Hossein Sabeti, a hardline member of parliament,
accused Pezeshkian of being "deceived by America" and claimed the president
had facilitated Nasrallah's assassination by disobeying the supreme
leader's orders by halting a retaliation plan following Haniyeh's killing.

Following Friday's killing of Nasrallah, a former conservative Iranian MP
told MEE that Israel was behaving like a "rabid dog", adding that it "must
be controlled."

<https://www.middleeasteye.net/opinion/chaos-israel-sowing-across-middle-east-could-come-back-haunt-it>

The chaos Israel is sowing across the Middle East could come back to haunt
it


"If Iran is to respond to Israel, it must consider pursuing an atomic bomb.
If Iran and Israel wish to ignite the region, then Iran should work towards
developing nuclear capabilities," the former official said on condition of
anonymity due to sensitivities surrounding the issue.

Speaking to reporters late on Tuesday, Israeli military spokesman Daniel
Hagari said the attacks were serious and would have consequences "in a
timely manner."

Meanwhile, the United States said its forces were ready to provide
"additional defensive support" to Israel.

"Our forces remain postured to provide additional defensive support and to
protect US forces operating in the region" after "defending against
Iranian-launched missiles targeting Israel," a US defence official said on
condition of anonymity.

Sina Toossi, a senior non-resident fellow at the Center for International
Policy, noted that several IRGC-affiliated Iranian outlets had warned the
US against targeting Iranian facilities.

"Iran has warned the US: if you target our refineries, we will set fire to
the refineries and oil fields across the entire region, including those in
Saudi Arabia, Azerbaijan, Kuwait, the UAE, and Bahrain," Toossi tweeted.

Meanwhile, Iranian-backed Iraqi armed groups said US bases in Iraq and the
region will be targets if the US joins any response to Iranian strikes on
Israel or if Israel uses Iraqi airspace against Tehran.

The firing of the missiles came after Israeli troops launched ground raids
into Lebanon, in the biggest escalation of regional warfare since fighting
erupted in Gaza last October.
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