Khamenei Promises 'Punishment' for Israel; Israel Discusses Direct Attack on Iran

On the day that Ali Khamenei, in his Eid al-Fitr sermon, deemed the attack attributed to Israel on the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps headquarters at the Islamic Republic's consulate in Damascus as a 'mistake' and stated that 'Israel must be punished and will be punished,' the Israeli foreign minister threatened the Islamic Republic with a direct attack on Iranian soil. The leader of the Islamic Republic emphasized that Israel 'added another mistake to its errors with the attack on the Iranian consulate in Syria; consulates and embassies in any country represent the territory of that country. When they attack our consulate, it means they have attacked our territory.' Khamenei continued, 'The wicked regime made a mistake and must be punished, and it will be punished.' In response to Khamenei's remarks, the Israeli foreign minister posted in Persian and Hebrew on X, mentioning Khamenei, stating, 'If Iran attacks from its territory, Israel will respond and will attack in Iran.' He had previously stated that Israel does not seek war with Iran but is not afraid of threats of retaliation from Israel. Israel Katz confirmed that the West does not take Iran's threats and its proxies seriously while threatening, 'If they attack us directly, we will respond on Iranian soil.' The previous day, 'Ilaaf News' based in London reported that if the Iranian government directly attacks Israel in response to last week's attack in Damascus, Israel will retaliate against targets in Iran. John Kirby, the National Security Advisor at the White House, also stated in a press conference on Tuesday, in response to a question about the U.S. readiness to counter any potential retaliatory action by the Islamic Republic under the pretext of the alleged Israeli attack on its consulate in Damascus, that Washington's support for Israel is 'ironclad.' The attack on Monday, April 1, on the Islamic Republic of Iran's consular building in Damascus resulted in the deaths of seven senior commanders of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Tehran and Damascus have declared Israel responsible for the attack, but Israel has not directly accepted responsibility for it. The Islamic Republic stands at a crossroads of 'strategic patience' or 'severe revenge'; the commander of the Navy of the IRGC stated: 'We will act neither emotionally nor hastily.' The National Security Advisor at the White House stated: 'U.S. support for Israel in countering threats from the Islamic Republic is 'ironclad.' Israel is prepared to attack Iran's nuclear facilities if Tehran retaliates. CNN, citing U.S. intelligence sources, reported that an Iranian attack on Israel would likely be carried out by proxy forces in the region.