Iran threatens more attacks if Israel responds, defends massive assault as 'responsible'

Iranian Foreign Minister Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian on Sunday defended the Islamic Republic's massive assault on Israel as being the "responsible approach" to creating peace, and he warned that his country would launch another attack if Israel responded to its assault. 

"Exercising the right of legitimate defense shows Iran's responsible approach to regional and international peace and security," Abdollahian wrote on X, as translated, after Iran launched hundreds of missiles and drones at Israel on Saturday.

Iran launched the attack after it blamed Israel for airstrikes on April 1 in Syria that killed Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Brig. Gen. Mohammad Reza Zahedi, the highest-ranking Iranian military commander to be killed since the U.S. assassination of Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani in 2020. Israel has not claimed responsibility for the April 1 attack.

Most of the missiles and drones launched by Iran over the weekend were shot down by military forces from multiple countries including Israel, Jordan, the United States and the United Kingdom.

Israel is considering how to respond to Iran, but any action poses a risk of creating a larger conflict.

While Western nations have expressed support for Israel, Russia's Foreign Ministry expressed what it called "extreme concern at yet another dangerous escalation in the region," but it still said Iran's response was justified as "self-defense."

Meanwhile, the Israel Defense Forces on Sunday announced it carried out an airstrike targeting a munitions production site belonging to Hezbollah, an Iranian proxy terrorist group located in Lebanon. Hezbollah launched dozens of rockets at northern Israel during the Iranian attack overnight.  

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