Iran vows response to US strikes, hits back at Israel

New Delhi  : Iran continues to promise retaliation for United States strikes on critical nuclear facilities, as it launched a new wave of missiles and drones against Israel.
AbdolrahimMousavi, the new chief of staff of Iranian armed forces, said in a short statement on Monday morning that the US violated Iran’s sovereignty when it attacked the Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan nuclear sites on Sunday and had “entered the war clearly and directly”. “The criminal US must know that in addition to punishing its
illegitimate and aggressive offspring, the hands of Islam’s fighters within the armed forces have been freed to take any action against its interests and military, and we will never back down in this regard,” he said, in reference to Israel. EbrahimZolfaghari, who
is acting as the spokesman of Iran’s retaliatory strikes against Israel, said in his latest televised statement on Monday that the US’s attacks were meant to “revive the dying Zionist regime” but will actually serve to “expand the scope of the legitimate and various targets of Iranian armed forces, and create the grounds for expanding war in the region”.
Referring to US President Donald Trump, Zolfaghari said in English: “Gambler Trump, you may start this war, but we will be the ones to finish it.” Iran’s army announced on
Monday it had fired dozens of one-way drones with antifortification explosive warheads
at Israel. It claimed the majority of the projectiles fired since the early hours of the day had successfully reached their targets. Sirens also began sounding across Israel before noon on Monday, with a large number of impacts recorded in several areas, including the Ashdod area in southern Israel and the Lachish area, south of Jerusalem. The
attacks came after the X account of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei
republished an excerpt of a televised speech he made last week from an unknown location, which said Israel “must be punished and it is being punished right now”. The Israeli military continues to launch air attacks across Iran as well, saying in an announcement on Monday it hit at least six airports in western, eastern and central Iran, including the Mehrabad airport in the capital, Tehran. “The strikes damaged runways, underground bunkers, a refuelling plane and F14, F-5, and AH-1 aircraft belonging to the Iranian regime,” it said, adding that 15 of its air force jets also carried out attacks
in Kermanshah to target launch and storage sites for Iranian surface-to-surface missiles. Later on Monday, Iranian officials said the Fordow nuclear site was attacked again, without specifying who was behind the attack. MortezaHeydari, spokesman of Qom’s crisis management organisation, said “no danger is posed to citizens” in the area. Massive Israeli air raids, meanwhile, targeted Tehran and nearby Karaj around noon
local time, with large plumes of rising visible in areas across the capital. The live feed of state television was cut for several minutes, and it was confirmed that a technical building supporting live broadcasts for several channels was hit. The entrance of the Evin Prison was also bombed, as was a building of the Red Crescent Society. The
prestigious ShahidBeheshti University in northern Tehran was targeted, as well. According to the latest figures by Iran’s Ministry of Health, as of Saturday, more than 400 people have been killed in the Israeli attacks, mostly civilians. At least 24 people have been killed in Israel by Iranian projectiles, according to Israeli authorities.

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