TEHRAN, April 14 (Xinhua) -- Iran's Permanent Mission to the United Nations said the country's military action against Israel was based on Article 51 of the UN Charter regarding the legitimate right to self-defense and in response to the deadly Israeli attack against the Iranian consulate in Syria, the official news agency IRNA reported on Sunday.
The Iranian mission made the remarks while elaborating on the country's large-scale missile and drone strikes launched in the early hours of Sunday against Israel in retaliation for the Israeli missile strike on April 1 on the consular section of the Iranian Embassy in Damascus that killed seven Iranians, including two veteran commanders, the report said.
The mission said that the attack on Israel can be considered finished.
"However, if Israel makes another mistake, the response of the Islamic Republic of Iran will be considerably more severe.
"This is a conflict between Iran and the rebellious regime of Israel, and the United States should stay away from it," it warned.
The mission added that if the UN Security Council had condemned the Israeli "aggression" against the Iranian diplomatic missions in Damascus, and subsequently tried those behind it, "perhaps it was not necessary that Iran punishes" Israel.
Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said in two separate statements that it had launched "tens of missile and drones" and "successfully hit and destroyed" important military targets belonging to the Israeli army in the occupied Palestinian territories, in response to "numerous Israeli crimes."
The IRGC also warned that any threat by the United States and Israel from any country would receive a reciprocal and proportionate response from Iran. ■
