‘It’s Not Over’, IRGC Warns Europeans Who Rushed to Israel’s Defense During April Strikes

The European powers who deployed military assets to help protect Israel against Iran’s Operation True Promise strikes last month have no call to rest easy, and will be made to account for their actions in time, a senior Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps commander has warned.

“France, Germany* and Britain, who promised [Israel] planes on the night of Operation True Promise, should not think that everything is over and done with. Yes, for that night it was over, but they will be held accountable in due course,” IRGC Quds Force commander Esmail Qaani said at a ceremony commemorating the 40-day anniversary of the death of the Iranian commander killed in Israel's Embassy strike on Wednesday.

“All criminals should know that their measures and crimes have been chalked up to their accounts,” Qaani warned, adding that regional powers should not hope to get the same level of support Israel received from the US during last month’s Iranian operation.

“Up to seven-eight naval groups were deployed…to prevent the Iranian operation, and more than 200 aircraft were in the sky from the night of the operation until its end. The region became the densest point in the world in terms of air defense,” Qaani said.

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“True Promise was an overt operation…The timing of the operation was clear as daylight to the Zionist regime and the United States,” the commander added, referring to the warning time Tehran provided Washington before launching its strikes.

Nevertheless, Iran managed to achieve its goals, with a number of its missiles getting through, striking an Israeli airbase in the Negev Desert, and an intelligence-gathering facility in northern Israel.

“There are many secrets within this operation that will take a long time to analyze,” Qaani said.

The commander’s sentiments were echoed by Iranian Army Ground Forces Commander Kiumars Heydari, who told students of the Imam Ali Army Officer University Thursday that Operation True Promise was an unmistakable signal to Tel Aviv.

“If there is a threat originating from the Zionist regime against us, it will be answered directly by the Islamic Republic,” Heydari said.

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Iran on one side and Israel and its allies on the other have presented conflicting versions of events regarding the success of the Islamic Republic’s April 14 missile and drone attack, with Tel Aviv assuring that “99 percent” of the fired and launched projectiles were intercepted and destroyed, demonstrating Israel’s ability to defend against Iran’s missile and drone might. Iranian officials and media, as well as independent observers, have offered a different take, characterizing the strikes as proof of Tehran’s ability to reach and hit Israel, even after it was given advance warning time, even with the US and its allies providing cover, and Iran not deploying its most advanced missile capabilities.

* Germany is not known to have provided direct military assistance to Israel during last month's Iranian retaliatory strikes.