Iran announces suspension of operations after ‘painful response’ to Zionist regime

Iran's Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters has announced the cessation of military operations against Israel, stating that a "painful response" has been delivered to the Zionist regime in support of the oppressed people of Lebanon.

The headquarters said in a statement on Monday that the halt comes after Iran's powerful armed forces delivered a response to the "atrocities and mischief" of the "savage Zionist regime" in southern Lebanon and the Dahiyeh district, which were carried out with the support of "criminal America".

"The fake Zionist regime and its supporters must learn a lesson from this response," the statement said.

The announcement follows a series of missile strikes by the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) on Sunday targeting Israel's Ramat David Air Base in northern occupied territories.

The IRGC said the operation was in response to Israel's "widespread crimes" in southern Lebanon, including the killing and displacement of civilians, and that the air base had served as the origin of aggressions against Lebanon.

On Monday, the IRGC struck Israel's strategic Nevatim and Tel Nof airbases in northern occupied territories after Israeli aggression on several Iranian cities.

Iranian officials have repeatedly insisted that the ceasefire between Iran, the United States and Israel that took effect on April 8 was conditional on a truce on all fronts.

However, Israel, with a US greenlight and the silence of international organizations, has continued its "malicious actions" against the Lebanese people on a daily basis, committing war crimes by using banned weapons, including phosphorus bombs, Iranian officials say.

The headquarters emphasized that while operations have been halted, "much more intense and crushing measures than before" will be taken if aggression and mischief, including in southern Lebanon, continue.

Israeli forces suffered “heavy, targeted, and costly blows” in a new wave of operations against “important and sensitive targets” inside occupied territories, the central command’s spokesman said.

“We acted as we had promised,” Brigadier General Ebrahim Zolfaghari, a senior commander in the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) and the spokesman of the Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, said Monday.

"The powerful armed forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran, including the IRGC and the regular army, have proven that they are at the peak of defensive and offensive readiness, acting swiftly and precisely on what they say, and will make the American and Zionist enemies regret their actions," he added.

Zolfaghari said, “In the new wave of operations against important and sensitive targets in the occupied territories, the enemy experienced a successful offensive operation, having received heavy, targeted, intelligent, and costly blows from the powerful forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran."

He also issued a stark warning to the United States and Israel, saying “criminal America and the brutal Zionist regime must know that a strong and proud Iran and the honorable resistance forces in the region will stand firm under any circumstances and against any threat, and will never bow their heads in surrender to the losing enemies of war”.

“If aggression and mischief continue, they will be dealt with even greater intensity,” he added.

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