Supreme Leader Khamenei says Iran has demonstrated its power against Israel

Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei thanked the country’s armed forces for their attack on Israel this month and said the country had shown its might no matter how many targets were hit, Iran’s official news agency reported on Sunday.

In its first-ever direct attack on Israel, Iran sent a barrage of more than 300 missiles and drones on April 13 in retaliation for Israel’s suspected deadly attack on its embassy complex in Damascus on April 1.

Most of the missiles and drones were shot down by Israel and its allies and the attack caused modest damage in Israel. “How many missiles were launched and how many of them hit their targets is not the main question; what really matters is that Iran demonstrated its power during that operation,” Khamenei said on Sunday.

Early on Friday, explosions echoed over the Iranian city of Isfahan, in what sources said was an Israeli attack. Tehran played down the incident and said it had no plans for retaliation – a response that appeared aimed at averting a war across the region.

“During the recent operation, the armed forces managed to minimize costs and maximize profits,” Khamenei added, urging military officials to “relentlessly pursue military innovation and learn the enemy’s tactics ”.