TEHRAN -- President Ebrahim Raisi has praised Iran’s strikes last month on the Israeli-occupied territories in retaliation for the regime’s earlier aggression on the Iranian diplomatic mission in Syria as a source of national pride. 
Raisi made the statement in a televised interview broadcast live on Tuesday night while elaborating on the aspects of Operation True Promise, which Iran carried out in the late hours of April 13.
He said the operation should be discussed in various meetings and scientific, research, political and security circles.
“Operation True Promise is a source of national pride and is considered a turning point in consensus-building measures across the country, and everyone praised this deed.”
Raisi said the Zionist regime’s aggression against the Iranian Embassy in Syria bespoke the occupying entity’s desperation, adding that the Islamic Republic’s reprisal was a punishment for the regime as promised by Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei.
“The Zionist regime is beset by desperation and defeat. One of the manifestations of this desperation is the attack on the Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Damascus; an act that contravened all international laws and regulations,” he said. 
“Subsequently, the Leader of the Islamic Revolution asserted that the Zionist regime would be punished and this promise was fulfilled by our combatants.”
Raisi also said the operation was a clear manifestation of the rationality of the Islamic Revolution and put on display the cooperation between the military sector, diplomacy and media. 
“All sectors cooperated in this operation and proved that a strong Iran can remove the shadow of war from the country and take the military option off the table,” he said. 
In a multi-pronged attack, dubbed Operation True Promise, the Iranian armed forces launched dozens of drones and missiles at the occupied territories late on April 13 in response to the regime’s aggression on the Iranian diplomatic premises in the Syrian capital, Damascus, on April 1.