Iran vows to ‘respond firmly’ to Israeli strikes on military sites

October 28, 2024 journo

Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei says Tehran will “respond firmly and effectively” to Iran’s deadly strikes on military sites over the weekend.

“We are using all available means to respond firmly and effectively to the aggression of the Zionist regime,” Mr Baghaei told a regular news conference on Monday.

“The nature of our response will depend on the nature of the attack.”

On Saturday, Israel conducted air strikes on military sites in Iran in response to Tehran’s October 1 attack on Israel, itself retaliation for the killing of Iran-backed militant leaders and a Revolutionary Guards commander.

At least four soldiers were killed in the strikes, according to the military, and Iranian media reported on Monday that a civilian was also killed in the attack.

“The martyr Allahverdi Rahimpour, a civilian who was killed near Tehran during the recent attack by the Zionist regime, has been buried,” the local Fars news agency reported.

Tasnim news agency also reported the death, saying Mr Rahimpour worked as “a [security] guard in a company” and lived in the city of Nassimshahr south-west of Tehran.

Authorities had not previously reported civilian deaths in the strikes.

Saturday’s strikes took place against the backdrop of Israel’s ongoing war with Hamas, which expanded in recent weeks to also focus on Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Both groups are part of the “axis of resistance” aligned with Iran against Israel.

Mr Baghaei said a ceasefire in Gaza and Lebanon had remained the “goal” for Iran.

He further urged the United Nations Security Council, which is set to hold a meeting about the Israeli strikes on Monday, local time, to take a “decisive and firm” stance with regards to the attack.

Iran had called for the meeting to be on Sunday.

During the press conference, Mr Baghaei decried Israel’s “abuse” of Iraq’s airspace to launch the attack on Iran.

“The Zionist regime does not respect any limits in its law-breaking approach … it has repeatedly violated the airspace of many countries,” he said.

Iraq has submitted a complaint to the United Nations over Israel’s use of its airspace to strike Iran on Saturday, an Iraqi government spokesperson said on Monday.

Israel says suspected Hamas militants found in Gaza hospital

Israel’s military said in a statement on Monday its soldiers had arrested about 100 suspected Hamas militants during a raid in Kamal Adwan hospital in northern Gaza.

“The soldiers apprehended approximately 100 terrorists from the compound, including terrorists who attempted to escape during the evacuation of civilians,” it said.

“Inside the hospital, they found weapons, terror funds, and intelligence documents and in the surrounding area.”

Gaza health officials have denied any militant presence at the hospital.

AFP