Iranian Ground Forces Commander warns Israel: The era of “hit and run” is over

The Commander of the Iranian Ground Forces, Keumarth Heydari, stressed on Tuesday that what he described as the “era of hit and run” has passed, following the Iranian attack on the Israeli occupation state last Saturday night, in response to the targeting of Tehran’s consulate in the Syrian capital, Damascus. Haidari said, “Anyone who attacks our land will face punishment,” noting that “the Zionist entity must know that we have imposed a new rule to respond to every aggression.” He added that “the era of hit and run has passed,” and that “any action by the Zionist entity against us will be met with greater force than last Saturday’s operation.” Haidari’s statements come in light of the Israeli occupation leaders’ pledge to respond to the widespread Iranian attack launched by Tehran last Saturday night, in response to the Israeli raid that targeted Tehran’s consulate in Damascus at the beginning of this month, and resulted in the assassination of leaders in the Iranian Revolutionary Guard. International warnings are mounting about the deteriorating situation in the Middle East, in light of Israeli statements regarding the response to the Iranian response, which came amid the continuing aggression against the Gaza Strip and the increasing tension in the region since the seventh of last October. Earlier, Iranian President Ibrahim Raisi stressed that Tehran does not want to escalate the conflict in the region following the attack on the occupying state, stressing that “the slightest measure against Iran’s interests will be met with a massive, widespread and painful response.” For its part, the occupation army ruled out the possibility of not responding to the Iranian attack, and Hebrew media indicated that Israel’s response could include three scenarios, including a cyber attack, a limited electronic and missile attack, or a major cyber attack targeting military complexes. On April 13, Iran launched the first direct military attack in its history against the Israeli occupation, calling it “The True Promise.” Iran announced on its official television the launch of marches and ballistic missiles from its territory towards the occupation, in response to the occupation’s targeting of the Iranian consulate in the Syrian capital, Damascus, at the beginning of this month. According to the occupation’s narrative, 99 percent of the Iranian missiles and drones were intercepted, while Iranian television confirmed that half of these missiles and drones hit the targets for which they were launched.