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Iran to retaliate for any new Israeli attack 'within seconds,' senior diplomat warns

Deputy Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri Kani described the Israeli attack on the Iranian embassy’s consulate department in Syria on April 1 as a strategic mistake

DUBAI, April 16. /TASS/. Tehran will respond to any new Israeli attack against the Islamic republic "within seconds," Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri Kani said.

If Israel decides to target Iranian soil again, it will certainly receive a harder blow, he warned. "The response that [Israel] is going to receive [this time around] will be measured not in days or hours, but in seconds," the IRNA news agency quoted the senior Iranian official as saying.

Kani described the Israeli attack on the Iranian embassy’s consulate department in Syria on April 1 as a strategic mistake.

Earlier, Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Nasser Kanaani said that while Tehran was not seeking to escalate tensions in the Middle East, it would respond to "any illegitimate or irrational measures" against the republic.

On the evening of April 13, Iran launched drones and missiles toward Israel in response to what it called "repeated crimes" from Tel Aviv, including the attack on the consular office of the Iranian Embassy in Damascus ascribed to Israel. Tehran’s state-run media outlets said that military facilities in Israel were targeted. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) claimed it had intercepted 99% of the nearly 350 projectiles launched at Israel which caused slight damage to the Nevatim Air Base.