News - Middle East: The chief commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) has warned the Israeli regime that Iran’s reaction will be “certainly much harsher” if the regime responds to Iran’s retaliatory operation.

“The Zionist regime must stop its past behavior and learn from this [attack]. If the Zionist regime shows any response, our reaction will certainly be much harsher based on this new experience we have gained from their capabilities,” Major General Hossein Salami said on Sunday.
“From now on, if the Zionist regime attacks our interests, assets, figures, and citizens at any point, it will face counterattack from within the Islamic Republic of Iran,” he added.
On Saturday night, the IRGC launched extensive missile and drone strikes against the occupied territories in response to Israel’s deadly attack on the Iranian diplomatic premises in Syria early this month.
On Saturday night, the IRGC launched extensive missile and drone strikes against the occupied territories in response to Israel’s deadly attack on the Iranian diplomatic premises in Syria early this month that killed seven members of its armed forces including two generals.
Salami highlighted that Iran could carry out an operation in a larger scale but the attack “was limited” to the military bases of the Zionist regime, from the Golan Heights to the Negev desert, that were used in the terrorist attack on the Iranian consulate in Damascus.
According to Salami, the operation was “more successful than expected.”
“So far, we have not collected all the data relating to the strikes [against Israeli targets], but detailed, documented reports from the scene show that the operation was more successful than we expected,” he said.
The IRGC general explained that the operation was “unknown” and “unclear”, but had “opened a new chapter” for Iran in the fight against the Israeli regime.
He noted that Israel has a multilayered air-defense system which includes the Arrow, designed to intercept long-range missiles, David’s Sling, meant to intercept medium-range missiles, and Patriot, which is used to shoot down aircraft, such as drones. 
Israel’s defense system was also coping with incoming rocket, drone and missile attacks from Iran with assistance from the US, he added.
“The deep and multilayered air defense with the assistance from the US was stretching from Iraqi air space to Jordan and even parts of Syria and Palestine.
“Israel was using its F-15, F-16, and state-of-the-art F-35 fighter jets, Gulfstream jets as well as aerial refueling aircraft […] they were all deployed to defend Israel’s positions,” he added.
Penetrating these systems was “extremely difficult”, according to Salami.
Moreover, Israel and US electronic warfare could have represented a landmark in deciding the fate of the war crafts, so the operation took tactical ingenuity to render the enemy’s defense systems ineffective, Salami added.
“Dozens of ballistic and cruise missiles manage to break into deep layers of Israel’s seemingly safe air defense system, impact the aerial coalition between the US, France and Israel and reach the designated targets,” he said. 
Iran’s retaliatory missile and drone strikes on Israel were launched after two weeks of strategic patience and meticulous planning and execution.
The operation included at least four waves of drone attacks. It is estimated that a total of 400 to 500 drones were launched.
The retaliatory military operation also included the launch of a series of cruise and ballistic missiles, which were reportedly accompanied by simultaneous drone and missile strikes by the Axis of Resistance groups from Iraq, Yemen, and Lebanon.
On Sunday morning, the chief of staff of the Iranian Armed Forces, Major General Mohammad Baqeri, said Iran has concluded its retaliatory strikes on the occupied territories.Baqeri downplayed the extent of the operation compared to what Iran is capable of, saying that it was merely a punishment and the country’s response to any further military action by the Israeli regime “will be much greater.”