Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on Sunday thanked the country's armed forces for their attack this month on Israel, saying the country had demonstrated its power regardless of how many targets were hit, a tacit acknowledgment that despite launching a massive assault, few projectiles actually made through to their targets.
In its first ever direct attack on Israel, Iran sent a barrage of more than 300 missiles and drones on April 13 in what it said was retaliation for Israel's suspected deadly strike on its embassy compound in Damascus on April 1.
Most of the missiles and drones were shot down by Israel and its allies and the attack caused modest damage in Israel.
"How many missiles were launched and how many of them hit their target is not the primary question, what really matters is that Iran demonstrated its power during that operation," Khamenei said on Sunday.
Early on Friday, explosions echoed over the Iranian city of Isfahan in what sources said was an Israeli attack. Tehran played down the incident and said it had no plans for retaliation - a response that appeared gauged towards averting region-wide war.
"In the recent operation, the armed forces managed to minimize costs and maximize gains," Khamenei added, urging military officials to "ceaselessly pursue military innovation and learn the enemy's tactics.”
Khamenei, 85, made the comments in a meeting attended by the top ranks of Iran's regular military, police and the Revolutionary Guard.
Satellite images analyzed Saturday by The Associated Press showed the Iranian attack caused only minor damage at the Nevatim air base in southern Israel, including taking a chunk out of a taxiway that Israel quickly repaired.
