IRGC: Damage, losses inflicted on Israel ‘far beyond imagination’
Putin, Erdogan urge ‘immediate’ end to Israel-Iran conflict
The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) said on Monday that the damage inflicted on the Israeli regime by Operation True Promise III “far exceeds” what the regime had expected.
“Approximately 20 hours after the enemy’s initial assault, Operation True Promise III was conducted while the Zionist regime was at peak of defensive readiness.
Having anticipated Iran’s potential response, they had activated all their air defense systems and even secured airspace control over neighboring countries,” IRGC’s Deputy Commander for Political Affairs Brigadier General Yadollah Javani said in an interview released on Monday.
Saying that the regime resorted to terrorist acts amid diplomatic engagements, he added that “they believed their strikes on Iran's military and missile sites had completely destroyed the Islamic Republic's defensive and offensive capabilities—leaving Iran unable to execute operations on par with True Promise I & II.”
Javani highlighted the diversity of missiles used in the operation, saying, “Official reports confirm that in addition to long-range ballistic missiles, we successfully deployed new drones such as the ‘Arash’ into the airspace of the Israeli occupied territories.”
This unprecedented diversity of projectiles – never before deployed with such precision into the occupied territories – left the enemy in utter shock, he said, adding that the operation was so powerful that it went beyond what even Israeli authorities and US President Donald Trump anticipated.
Iran launched a new wave of ballistic missile attacks on Israel – including Tel Aviv and Haifa – killing at least eight people hours after the Israeli military again bombed the Iranian capital, Tehran.
Iran’s attacks have claimed the lives of more than 20 Israelis while the death toll from Israel’s attacks on Iran has risen to more than 220, including 70 women and children.
“A number of our prominent figures and a large number of our compatriots were martyred in this cruel aggression,” he added.
Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan called Monday for an "immediate" end to fighting between Israel and Iran in a phone conversation, the Kremlin said.
"The leaders called for an immediate end to hostilities and the settlement of contentious issues, including those related to Iran's nuclear program, exclusively through political and diplomatic means," the Kremlin said in its readout of the call.
Erdogan accused Israel of threatening security in the Middle East, saying that, “The spiral of violence that began with Israel's attacks on Iran has put the security of the entire region at risk."
His office said he told Putin that the "lawless attitude" of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's cabinet "poses a clear threat to the international system", adding that the Middle East "cannot tolerate a new war".
In a phone call with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, Erdogan said Turkey is ready to play a "facilitating role" to end the conflict.
Erdogan, who stepped up diplomatic calls on the conflict over the weekend, has slammed Israel's "banditry" and said Israel, was seeking to drag the world into "disaster" after a wave of strikes on Iran.