At military parade, Iran hails ‘success’ of attack, slams countries that normalized ties with Israel

Iran celebrates the “success” of its weekend drone and missile attack on Israel as it stages an annual military parade.

The Islamic Republic launched its first-ever direct attack on Israel on Saturday in response to an April 1 airstrike on its consulate in Damascus that has been widely blamed on Israel.

The operation, dubbed Honest Promise, “brought down the glory of the Zionist regime (Israel),” President Ebrahim Raisi says at a military base on the outskirts of Tehran.

“This operation showed that our armed forces are ready,” he says in a speech addressed to the regular army and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Wednesday’s parade saw the Iranian armed forces showcase a range of military equipment including drones and long-range ballistic missiles.

In his speech, Raisi also hit out at countries that had “sought to normalize relations” with Israel.

“These countries are now humiliated in front of their own people which constitutes a strategic failure for the regime” of Israel, he adds.

In 2020, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Morocco normalized relations with Israel as part of the US-brokered Abraham Accords.

Egypt and Jordan signed peace accords with Israel in 1979 and 1994, respectively.