Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel achieved “all its objectives” in the country’s attack against military targets in Iran on Saturday.
“We have severely struck [Iran’s] defense capabilities and its ability to produce missiles,” Netanyahu said, adding, “The attack on Iran was precise and powerful, achieving all its objectives.”
Israel attacked Iran in retaliation for Iran firing about 180 ballistic missiles at Israel less than a month ago.
Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said the retaliatory strike “should mark the end of this exchange.” He also told Israel’s defense minister, Yoav Gallant, that Iran “should not make the mistake of responding to Israel’s strikes,” according to a Pentagon readout of his phone call.
Looking to the future of ending the regional conflict, Austin said there were opportunities to “use diplomacy to dial down tensions in the region.”
President Joe Biden mirrored Austin’s viewpoint, saying that he hoped the strikes were “the end,” noting that it looked as if Israeli forces “didn’t hit anything other than military targets.”
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Still, Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said Sunday that the effect of Israel’s attack should not be exaggerated or downplayed, according to Iranian news service IRNA.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry called the strikes “a blatant violation of international law,” saying Iran is “entitled and obliged to defend” itself against external attacks.” The Foreign Ministry did note, however, that it was “cognizant of its responsibilities for regional peace and security.”
