Israel’s military chief vowed on Tuesday to hit Iran “very hard” if it retaliates against Israel for attacks on the Islamic republic over the weekend.
Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi said, “If Iran makes the mistake of launching another missile attack on Israel, we will once again know how to get to Iran… and to strike very, very hard.”
Addressing military personnel taking part in the weekend strike, Halevy said that some targets had been set aside “because we might need to do this again”.
“This incident is not over; we are still in the middle of it,” he said, according to a statement issued by the army.
Israeli warplanes carried out early morning airstrikes against Iranian military bases and missile production facilities on Saturday in response to a major ballistic missile attack by Tehran earlier this month.
That attack, which involved about 200 missiles, was launched in retaliation for the killing of several Tehran-aligned militant leaders, including Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah and a Revolutionary Guard commander.
Iran confirmed that the Israeli strike had targeted military sites in the capital Tehran and other parts of the country, but said it had caused “limited damage”.
In a post on Twitter, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Israel’s attack “should neither be exaggerated nor minimized”.
Without elaborating, he described the attack as a “miscalculation”.
The missile barrage was the second direct attack on Israel by Iran following a similar barrage in April. Israel reportedly retaliated against that attack the same month.
On Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Iran wanted to develop a “stockpile” of nuclear bombs aimed at destroying his country.
“Iran is attempting to develop a stockpile of nuclear bombs, long-range missiles, intercontinental missiles to destroy us,” Netanyahu said.
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