TEHRAN -- Iran on Sunday warned that it would launch a more severe attack if the occupying regime of Israel takes any action after overnight drone and missile strikes in an operation dubbed “True Promise”.
“Our response will be much larger than tonight’s military action if Israel retaliates against Iran,” Armed Forces Chief of Staff Major General Muhammad Bagheri said. 
Bagheri said Iran has warned Washington against backing any Israeli retaliation or risk its bases in the region being targeted.
Iran launched an unprecedented attack on the occupying entity overnight, with more than 300 drones and missiles fired towards Zionist targets, in response to Israeli strikes on its consular building in Syria earlier this month that martyred seven military advisors, including two senior commanders.
Bagheri said that Iran had no more plans to attack and considered its response to the attack on its Damascus consulate to have concluded.
Foreign Minister Hussein Amir-Abdollahian said Iran informed Washington that its attacks against the Zionist regime would be “limited” and for self-defense 
“At this point, the Islamic Republic of Iran has no intention of continuing defensive operations, but if necessary, it will not hesitate to protect its legitimate interests against any new aggression,” Amir-Abdollahian wrote on X.
Bagheri said Tehran conveyed a message to Washington through the Swiss embassy that if it participated “in the Zionists’ future aggressive moves, and that if this is proven to us, American bases and forces across in the region will have no security”.
The Zionist regime said it was discussing follow-up options with its allies. Israeli war minister Yoav Gallant said the occupying regime will build a regional coalition and exact a price when the time is “right”.
Israel’s chief military spokesperson, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, said Iran launched dozens of ground-to-ground missiles, including cruise and ballistic missiles.
He admitted that some of Iran’s ballistic missiles penetrated Israeli defenses and hit the Nevatim Airbase in southern Israel. 
Shahed drones and missiles were seen flying over Iraq. Lebanon’s Hezbollah fired rockets at an Israeli base overnight. 
Iran’s Fars news agency quoted a source as saying Tehran was closely watching Jordan, which might become the next target in case of any moves in support of Israel.
Saturday’s attack is the first time Iran has ever struck at the occupying regime of Israel directly. It continued over several hours.
U.S. President Joe Biden said he would convene a meeting of leaders of the Group of Seven major economies on Sunday to coordinate a diplomatic response to Iran’s operation. 
Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Sunday that the U.S. does “not seek escalation” and would hold talks with its allies in the coming days. 
Baqeri downplayed the extent of the operation compared to what Iran is capable of, saying that it was merely a punishment and the country’s response to any further military action by the Israeli regime “will be much greater.”
 The first direct attack on the occupying entity left Zionists shaken and earful that a bigger war is looming.
While the population has long been used to sirens warning of attacks from Hamas, the hundreds of drones and missiles sent from Iran over Saturday night marked a new element in the over-lapping Middle East conflicts.
Iranian weapons could be seen flashing over the sky at night.
“I think it was quite scary when in the middle of the night we started hearing booming and we didn’t know what it was, I mean we knew what it was, we didn’t know to what extent it would be,” said occupied Al-Quds resident Cecile Smulowitz.
Some Zionists said they did not want an escalation but with the stakes so high they are nervous.
“I really hope there won’t be a big war, none of us in Israel wants a big war so I hope that’s it, and I hope Iran would stop now,” said Jeremy Smith, 60, a resident of Tzur Hadassah.
Prior to the Iranian retaliation, Israeli authorities had instructed the public not to hold large gatherings, to close all schools and venues for children’s camps during the Jewish holiday of Passover, and the closure of some beach and travel sites. 
Gen. Bagheri played down the extent of the

 operation compared to what Iran is capable of, saying that it was merely a punishment and the country’s response to any further military action by the Israeli regime “will be much greater.”
“The reason for this operation was the crossing of red line by the Zionist regime, which cannot be tolerated in any way for us,” he asserted.
Iran hit a large intelligence base in the occupied lands and Nevatim Airbase, from where an F-35 jet took off to target Iran’s consulate in Damascus, Bagheri said, adding that both sites were “significantly destroyed and disabled”.
The operation “reached its goals” as the Zionist regime’s so-called Iron Dome system failed to significantly deal with the Iranian missiles and drones.
“We were capable of conducting an operation against the regime 10 times bigger than this one, but we tried to keep it at the level of a punishment and did not target populated and economic centers,” the top general stated.
The chief commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Major General Hussein Salami said, “From now on, if the Zionist regime attacks our interests, assets, figures, and citizens at any point, it will face counterattack from within the Islamic Republic of Iran.” 
Salami said the operation was “more successful than expected”.
“So far, we have not collected all the data relating to the strikes but detailed, documented reports from the scene show that the operation was more successful than we expected,” he said.
The IRGC general said the operation “opened a new chapter” for Iran in the fight against the Israeli Zionist. 
Gen. Salami said dozens of ballistic and cruise missiles broke into deep layers of Israel’s seemingly safe air defense system and reached the designated targets.