Iran’s historic strikes humiliate ‘Israel’, change regional equation

For days, the invincible West was thrust to the edge of its seats in anticipation of a sure-fire retaliation from Tehran following the April 1 attack on its embassy in Syria. Nobody knew when the attack would happen or where with US and Israeli officials anticipating the retaliation in terror amid the Zionist entity’s act of clear aggression, as Hezbollah Secretary-General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah confirmed in his firm stance to be “sure that the Iranian response to the Israeli targeting of its embassy in Damascus is coming.”

Before any shots were fired, Iran had already shaken the Israeli occupation entity society to its core. Immediately after the April 1 embassy bombing, Israeli settlers took to shelter and Israeli GPS systems were jammed, plunging the entity into a complete frenzy. On April 5, 28 of “Tel Aviv’s” legations worldwide were closed, occupation soldiers were barred from taking leave, and both the occupying entity and the US stayed on high alert. 

This panic continued for another week as the US issued its second notice on April 12 that it believed Iran was to retaliate within 24-48 hours. On the evening of April 12, in response to the Israeli aggression on different areas in South Lebanon, Hezbollah – which has been engaging Israeli forces on the border with occupied Palestine since October 8, 2023 – fired a barrage of 50 rockets to soften up the Iron Dome anti-air systems. 

Earlier in the day, on April 13, Iran apprehended an “Israel”-linked ship in the Hormuz strait, an action which also sent a message to the US that it would easily be able to close the strait on its aircraft carriers in the outbreak of war between Iran and “Israel”. By around midnight in Iran, the Islamic Republic had launched Operation True Promise.

200 Iranian drones, as per the IOF, flew toward the Zionist entity, immediately overwhelming three layers of anti-air systems. While these drones were older and less advanced, they did the job of overwhelming both American and Israeli air defense systems, keeping them busy as the next wave of about 150 missiles came through. Iran struck “Nevatim” and “Ramon” air bases in “Negev” with several missiles exceeding their expectations in hitting their targets. Iran bombed the site of Israeli F-35 jets, which bombed the Iranian Embassy in Syria, killing 7 Iranian Generals, including IRGC General Mohammad Reza Zahedi. It is only now that American media is admitting the facts of at least 9 Iranian missiles hitting their targets at the air base, with one American official reporting that 5 ballistic missiles hit the “Nevatim” Air Base, causing damage to a C-130 military transport plane, a runway – visible via satellite imagery released the following day, and storage facilities. 

The sight of Iranian drones and missiles firing from Iranian territory 2000 kilometers to occupied Palestine, flying over the Israeli Knesset and al-Aqsa Mosque, sending a clear message on the extent and reach of the capabilities of its older, much slower weapons, left the Israeli occupation to only imagine what kind of damage Fatah missiles could inflict, which can reach the occupying entity from Iran in a matter of minutes.

Despite Israelis reporting in occupation entity and US media that 99% of missiles were intercepted – giving inflated numbers on projectiles the Resistance intentionally wanted to engage Israeli anti-air systems anyway, the interceptions during that one night alone cost over $1.3 billion. On the flipside, Iran’s retaliation cost it $35 million – just 2.7% of what it had cost the Zionist entity, which expended 67% of its monthly budget in that night alone. While Iran used its cheaper stockpiles as both bait and missiles to carry out the main mission, “Israel”, on the other hand, couldn’t shield its occupation bases from these missiles, despite the presence of US-made AN/TPY-2 advanced missile detection radar system in the “Negev”.

In the aftermath of the attack, the US immediately told “Israel” that it would not back it in a potential retaliation – a shocking development that highlighted the increased contradictions between US aims to prevent regional war and unconditional support to “Israel”. The US also said it won’t respond, for the time being, unable to deal with facing any further consequences of its deeply unpopular policies at home and on the world stage. Ironically, “Israel’s” initial April 1 provocation, designed to pull the US into a war against Iran, ended up with the deterrence power in Iran’s hands.

Iran was exercising its right to respond to the targeting of its diplomatic territory – enshrined under Article 51 of the UN charter, undertaken after nearly two weeks of UNSC inaction to “Israel’s” overt violation of the Geneva Convention. Yet, Iran’s accomplishments went beyond a decisive response in the bounds of international legality in gaining the upper hand in deterrence capability while increasing the internal contradictions between the US and “Israel”. The Zionist entity, sustaining catastrophic financial losses and losing the unconditional support of its main backer, can no longer confidently be sure it can carry out compensation for its losses in Gaza by invoking a regional war with Washington’s blessing and backing. The night of April 14 showed not only “Israel”, but America those consequences.

Moreover, Iran’s one night of controlled retaliation is bound to give the Palestinian Resistance positive leverage in its negotiations. Already, the Israelis are putting the Rafah invasion on hold despite almost months of signaling an imminent invasion, showing the additional impact of faltering confidence in US backing that opposed the Israeli occupation’s invasion of the corridor from the start. The postponement of the Rafah invasion is thanks to Iran’s power to deter “Israel” not only from striking the Islamic Republic once more but also from moving forth with the final step of its failed ground operation.

Netanyahu, who fled and hid immediately following the commencement of the attacks, couldn’t even face a sample of the Iranian confrontation he’d spent years trying to instigate. If October 7 broke the occupation’s barriers, security, and confidence on the ground, then on April 14, the Zionist entity’s grandeur became shattered in the air.