Iran says retaliation concluded, warns Israel not to respond

Iran on Sunday urged Israel not to retaliate militarily to an unprecedented attack overnight, which Tehran presented as a justified response to a deadly strike on its consulate building in Damascus.

"The matter can be deemed concluded," Iran's mission to the United Nations said in a post on social media platform X just a few hours after the start of the operation late Saturday.

"However, should the Israeli regime make another mistake, Iran's response will be considerably more severe," the Iranian mission warned.

No Iranian leaders have spoken out yet to justify the attack, which marked the first time Iran has launched a direct military assault on Israeli territory.

Late Saturday, Iran's Revolutionary Guards Corps announced that they had launched "dozens of drones and missiles" towards military sites on Israeli territory.

"Iran's military action was in response to the Zionist regime's aggression against our diplomatic premises in Damascus" earlier this month. 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".

Israel's army said it had shot 99 percent of the drones and missiles with the help of the United States and other allies, declaring Iran's attack "foiled".

The Iranian army chief of staff Mohammad Bagheri said the attack has "achieved all its objectives".

Bagheri said Iran's retaliation targeted an "intelligence centre" and the air base from which Tehran says the Israeli F-35 jets took off to strike the Damascus consulate on 1 April.

"Both these centres were significantly destroyed and put out of order," he said, though Israel maintains that the attack only resulted in minor damage.

"There is no intention to continue this operation," he said, calling on Israel to avoid taking further action against Iran which according to Bagheri would result in a "much bigger" response.