The Palestinian Hamas group has expressed support for Iran after it launched hundreds of missiles and drones at Israel in retaliation for a deadly assault on its consulate in the Syrian capital, Damascus.
In a statement on Saturday, Hamas, which governs the Palestinian enclave of Gaza, said it affirmed “the natural right” of countries and peoples in the Middle East to defend themselves “in the face of Zionist aggressions”
“The military operation carried out by Iran against the Zionist entity is a natural right and a due response to the crime of targeting the consulate in Damascus,” it said.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said it launched the drones and missiles under Operation True Promise as part of the punishment for “the Zionist entity’s crime of targeting the Iranian consulate in Syria” on April 1.
The raid in Damascus killed 12 people, including two senior generals in the IRGC’s elite Quds Force.Israel has neither confirmed nor denied responsibility for the consulate attack.
Iran’s mission to the United Nations said it now deemed the matter “concluded” and warned Israel of a “considerably more severe” response should the “Israeli regime make another mistake”. It also warned the US to stay out of the conflict.
Iran has urged Israel not to retaliate militarily to an unprecedented attack overnight, which Tehran said was a justified response to a strike that destroyed its consulate building in Damascus earlier this month.
According to AFP, no Iranian leaders have spoken out to justify the attack, which marked the first time Iran has launched a direct military assault on Israeli territory.
“Iran’s military action was in response to the Zionist regime’s aggression against our diplomatic premises in Damascus,” the Iranian mission to the UN said. The attack, according to the mission, was “conducted on the strength of Article 51 of the UN Charter pertaining to legitimate defence”.
“If necessary”, Tehran “will not hesitate to take defensive measures to protect its interests against any aggressive military action,” Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
Experts have suggested that Saturday’s slow-moving drone attack was calibrated to represent a show of power but also allow some wiggle room.
“It appears that Iran telegraphed its attack on Israel to demonstrate it can strike using different capabilities to complicate the (Israeli army’s) ability to neutralise the assault but also to provide an off ramp to pause escalation,” said Nishank Motwani, senior analyst at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute in Washington.
Iraq has reopened its airspace hours after suspending all air traffic as neighbouring Iran had launched an unprecedented drone and missile attack on Israel, the Iraqi aviation authority announced.
According to AFP, Jordan, which neighbours Iraq as well as Israel, and Lebanon similarly reopened their respective airspace on Sunday, as did Israel which said the Iranian attack had been “foiled” with most launches intercepted overnight.
The Iraqi civil aviation authority announced in a statement “the reopening of the airspace” and resumption of flights to and from airports across the country, saying there were no longer any “security risks to civilian aircraft”. Local Kurdish media in northern Iraq reported that Iranian drones had flown over the autonomous Kurdish region overnight.
In Jordan, civil aviation commission chief Haitham Misto told the official Al Mamlaka channel: “The Jordanian airspace has been reopened and the situation has returned to normal.”
Samer Majali, CEO of flag carrier Royal Jordanian, said on Sunday that the airline’s flights “have resumed,” though some delays can be expected.
Lebanon’s Transport Minister Ali Hamie told AFP that “we have resumed flights since 7 am (0400 GMT), and we’re monitoring the situation.” The international airport in Beirut “has resumed its work,” he added.
Iran’s unprecedented overnight attack on Israel has been “foiled”, the Israeli military has said, with hundreds of missiles and drones intercepted with the help of the United States and allies, AFP reports.
Earlier today, the Israeli army said that 99 per cent of the launches had been intercepted.
“The Iranian attack was foiled,” military spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said in a televised statement.
