Vijay Mallya fled because lookout notice was diluted from ‘Block’ to ‘Report’: Swamy

Iraqi resistance forces have targeted Haifa Airport in the northwestern part of the 1948 Israeli-occupied territories in retaliation for the Tel Aviv regime’s war against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

The Islamic Resistance in Iraq, an umbrella group of anti-terror fighters, in a brief statement claimed responsibility for the early Wednesday drone strike against the facility.

The coalition said the airport came under attack by armed unmanned aerial vehicles.

It noted that that the attack “falls within the framework of the second phase of operations against the occupying Israeli regime. It was conducted in support of Palestinians in Gaza, and in retaliation for the Zionist entity’s massacres against defenseless Palestinian civilians.”

The Islamic Resistance in Iraq underscored it would continue to “destroy the enemy’s strongholds.”

Separately, the sound of explosions was heard close to Ovda Airbase, an Israeli Air Force (IAF) base located around 40 kilometers (24.8 miles) north of Eilat, Lebanon’s Arabic-language al-Mayadeen television news channel reported.

The Islamic Resistance in Iraq has carried out numerous attacks on Israeli targets since the start of a genocidal war on Gaza by the occupying regime in early October.

Israel unleashed its war on Gaza on October 7 after the Palestinian Hamas resistance group carried out Operation Al-Aqsa Storm against the usurping entity in retaliation for its intensified atrocities against the Palestinian people.

The Tel Aviv regime has enforced a “total siege” on the territory, severing the supply of fuel, electricity, food, and water to the more than two million Palestinians residing there.

The Israeli war has resulted in the death of 32,916 Palestinian lives and left another 75,494 wounded, painting a grim picture of the situation.

The Islamic Resistance in Iraq has also struck major American military bases in Syria and Iraq in retaliation for Washington’s singled out support for the bloody Israeli onslaught against the Gaza Strip, and in a show of strong solidarity with Palestinians.

Tehran: Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) has launched “extensive” retaliatory missile and drone strikes against the occupied territories in response to the Israeli regime’s terrorist attack of April 1 against the Islamic Republic’s diplomatic premises in the Syrian capital Damascus.

The Corps announced launching the strikes in a statement on Saturday night, defining the mission as "Operation True Promise."

“In response to the Zionist regime’s numerous crimes, including the attack on the consular section of Iran’s Embassy in Damascus and the martyrdom of a number of our country’s commanders and military advisors in Syria, the IRGC’s Aerospace Division launched tens of missiles and drones against certain targets inside the occupied territories,” the statement read.

Iran's Defense Minister Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Ashtiani, meanwhile, warned that “Whatever country that could open its soil or airspace to Israel for a [potential] attack on Iran, will receive our decisive response.”

The Israeli attack had resulted in the martyrdom of Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Zahedi, a commander of the IRGC's Quds Force, his deputy, General Mohammad Hadi Haji Rahimi, and five of their accompanying officers.

The terrorist attack drew sharp condemnation from senior Iranian political and military leaders, who vowed "definitive revenge."

During a speech in Tehran on Wednesday after leading the Eid al-Fitr prayers, Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei said the Israeli regime “must be punished and will be punished” for the deadly strike on the Iranian diplomatic premises.

The Leader added, “The evil Zionist regime committed another mistake ...  and that was the attack on the Iranian consulate in Syria. The consulate and diplomatic missions in any country are considered to be the territory of that country. When they attack our consulate, it means they have attacked our soil."

In a subsequent statement, the IRGC said the retaliation came after 10 days of "silence and neglect" on the part of the international organizations, especially the United Nations Security Council, to condemn the Israeli aggression or punish the regime in line with Article 7 of the UN Charter.

Iran then resorted to the retaliatory strikes, the Corps added, "using its strategic intelligence capabilities, missiles, and drones" to attack "targets of the Zionist terrorist army in the occupied territories, successfully hitting and destroying them."

The statement, meanwhile, warned the United States -- the Israeli regime's biggest supporter -- that "any support or participation in harming Iran's interests will result in a decisive and regrettable response by the Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic."

"Furthermore, America is held responsible for the evil actions of the Zionist regime, and if this child-killing regime is not restrained in the region, it will bear the consequences," it noted.

The Corps concluded the statement by cautioning third countries against letting their soil or airspace be used for attacks against the Islamic Republic.

New Delhi, Apr 12: India on Friday asked its citizens not to travel to Iran or Israel amid escalating tensions between the two countries following a strike on the Iranian consulate in Syria 11 days ago.

Iran blamed Israel for the strike and there have been fears that Tehran may launch an attack on Israel soon.

In an advisory, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) also urged the Indians residing in Iran and Israel to exercise utmost precautions about their safety and restrict their movements to minimum.

“In view of the prevailing situation in the region, all Indians are advised not to travel to Iran or Israel till further notice,” it said.

“All those who are currently residing in Iran or Israel are requested to get in touch with Indian Embassies there and register themselves,” the MEA said.

“They are also requested to observe utmost precautions about their safety and restrict their movements to the minimum,” it added.