Armed Forces to render ‘despicable’ Zionist regime helpless: Leader
Leader of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei said the Iranian Armed Forces will act strongly and render the despicable Israeli regime helpless.
The Leader made the assertion in a message to the Iranian nation on Friday following Israel’s several acts of aggression against the country that killed civilians, scientists, and military commanders.
Ayatollah Khamenei added that the Israeli regime will not escape unscathed from this crime and assured the Iranian nation that there will be no negligence in this regard.
The Leader stated that the Iranian people will not let the blood of their martyrs and the aggression against the skies of the country go in vain.
Ayatollah Khamenei noted that all Iranian officials, various political factions, and people from all walks of life have a common view regarding the necessity of carrying out a powerful measure in the face of the evil and terrorist Zionist regime.
There will be no compromise in the face of the Israeli regime, the Leader added.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian also called the Zionist regime’s attack on Iran a brutal action that reveals the regime’s criminal nature, promising a strong response that will make the enemy regret its move.
He said Friday that Iran will respond to the Israeli aggression in a wise, strong, and resolute manner, and called on the Iranian people to maintain unity in the face of psychological warfare by the enemy.
“This barbaric act, which is in complete violation of all international commitments, reveals the criminal nature of the Zionist regime whose existence is founded on occupation, aggression, and killing children,” President Pezeshkian added.
Israel’s unprovoked, illegal assault
In the early hours of Friday, Israel launched deadly aggression on various civilian areas and residential neighborhoods in the capital Tehran, and some other major cities.
The barbaric onslaught claimed dozens of innocent lives, including a number of the Islamic Republic’s top military officials and commanders.
Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Major General Mohammad Hossein Baqeri, Commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Major General Hossein Salami, Commander of Iran’s Khatam al-Anbia Central Headquarters Major General Gholam Ali Rashid, Commander of the IRGC Aerospace Force Major General Amir Ali Hajizadeh, and at least six Iranian nuclear scientists were martyred in the regime’s onslaught in the early hours of Friday.
Leader of Iran’s Islamic Revolution quickly appointed successors to the military commanders assassinated in Israel’s terrorist strikes early Friday.
Ayatollah Khamenei appointed Seyyed Abdolrahim Mousavi as the Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces, Mohammad Pakpour as commander of the IRGC, Ali Shademani as the commander of Iran’s Khatam al-Anbia Central Headquarters, and Majid Mousavi as the new chief of the elite Iranian force.
Iran’s crushing response
A senior Iranian military official said at least 150 targets were struck during the retaliatory operation against the Israeli regime, including several critically strategic military bases.
Brigadier General Ahmad Vahidi, a senior advisor to the chief commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), said early on Saturday the Operation True Promise III was successfully implemented by the IRGC aerospace division.
The operation involved the aerospace division firing a wave of missiles and deploying armed drones against “strategic” Israeli targets.
The official enumerated some of the targets as the Nevatim Airbase and the Ovda Airbase, located respectively in the north-central and extreme southern areas of the occupied territories.
“These bases housed command and control as well as electronic warfare centers, and were among the places from which the aggression against Iran had been launched,” he noted.
Israeli media, citing regime officials, also reported “unprecedented destruction” in Tel Aviv following Iran’s successful retaliatory military operation.
Dozens of illegal settlers were injured after a barrage of Iranian missiles pounded the largest and most densely populated urban area in the occupied Palestinian territories.
Keeping the exact number of casualties in the dark, Israeli media have so far confirmed at least four people dead and 70 others injured.
Officials were quoted as saying that they had “never seen anything” like that before.
The IRGC rejected the Zionist regime’s claims of intercepting the incoming fire, asserting that, “The enemy failed to counter the waves of missile strikes launched by the Islamic Republic.”
Meanwhile, on the defense front, Iran has earned the distinction of being the first country in the world to successfully shoot down fifth-generation fighter jets by targeting at least two stealth F-35 fighters belonging to the Zionist regime by late Saturday.
Israel acquired these jets primarily from the United States, with the F-35 Lightning II being produced by Lockheed Martin, an American aerospace manufacturer. Israel is one of the few entities authorized by the US to operate this cutting-edge fifth-generation stealth fighter, which is designed to evade radar detection.
World dividing into two fronts
Rapidly after the illegal, barbaric attacks of Israel on Iran began, so did a wave of responses from various countries, international organizations, and figures worldwide. Some expressed support for the Iranian nation, while others shamelessly took the side of the aggressor and asked Iran for restraint.
China’s UN ambassador Fu Cong condemned the Israeli regime’s violation of Iran’s sovereignty, security, and territorial integrity, urging Tel Aviv to put an immediate halt to its illegal aggression against Iran.
Russian spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told state news agencies that the Israeli strikes were “unprovoked”. “Russia is concerned and condemns the sharp escalation of tensions,” he said.
Also, during a UN Security Council meeting on the situation in West Asia on Friday, Fu said, “China… is deeply concerned about the consequences that may be brought about by Israel’s actions.”
Pakistani Defense Minister Khwaja Asif has pledged full support for Iran at international forums and called on the Muslim world to unite against Israel amid its aggression against the Islamic Republic.
The Palestinian resistance movement Hamas said the Zionist project “poses an existential threat to the entire region — not just Palestine — targeting all who refuse submission”.
The secretary-general of Lebanon’s Hezbollah resistance movement asserted that Iran would “emerge stronger, and Israel will come to regret its brutality and recklessness”.
In solidarity with the Iranian people, protestors took over Times Square in New York City, as well as outside the Israeli embassy in London, to condemn the atrocious US-Israeli aggression on the Islamic Republic.
UN Chief Antonio Guterres also called for “maximum restraint” from both sides to avoid “descent into deeper conflict, a situation that the region can hardly afford”, his spokesperson said.
Widespread grassroot protests against Israel have also erupted in Pakistan, Yemen, and Iran, among others.
Meanwhile, the US President Donald Trump confirmed in remarks to Reuters that he and his team knew the attacks were coming. “We knew everything,” Donald Trump said. On Saturday, he took to X (formerly, Twitter) to openly threaten Iran and the Iranian nation.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz expressed strong support for Israel’s “right to protect its existence and the security of its citizens,” a sentiment echoed by French President Emmanuel Macron, which has drawn criticism from some analysts who argue that Europe’s support for Israel may undermine its credibility as a neutral mediator.