Iran only targeted Israeli military sites in 'limited' strike: FM

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollhian says Iran's retaliatory strike against Israel was "limited" in scope, meaning "we did not define any non-military targets in our response".

The Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran targeted a military base where the Israeli army keeps F-35 aircraft, where the attack against Iran's embassy building in Damascus early this month originated,  Amirabdollhian said at a press conference in Tehran on Sunday.

In the early hours of Sunday, the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) launched about 300 missiles and drones towards the Israeli occupied territories in response to the attack on the consular section of Iran's embassy  in the Syrian capital, which killed two senior military commanders and five other officers.

"The operation targeted the intelligence center and the eye of the Zionist regime that had been used to direct all operations over the past six months, including the recent operation on the embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Damascus," Amirabdollhian said.

"Our armed forces did not target any economic or population centers, even in the attack on the military base.... the necessary precision was taken into account for dealing with and responding to the Zionist regime," he added.

The foreign minister said that Iran has told regional countries, where the United States has military bases, that the sole purpose of the "legitimate" operation was to "punish" the Israeli regime for its aggression against Iran's diplomatic premises.

The Islamic Republic, he said, is not seeking to target American bases or military personnel in the region.

However, the top diplomat added that Iran has already warned that if the United States uses its military bases in the region to launch any attack in support of Israel, then "the US military base in that country will inevitably be targeted".

"We are grateful to our neighbors and brothers in the region who quickly received this message and stressed to the US and others to immediately keep any war away from their territory," Amirabdollhian said.

He also maintained that Iran is committed to the security of "our brothers in neighboring countries and in the region

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