Iran's supreme leader: Israel will be punished

Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has once again threatened Tel Aviv following last week's Israeli attack in Syria, saying it would be "punished".

On 1 April, 16 people, including seven members of the Revolutionary Guards, were killed in an attack on the Iranian consulate in Damascus. Iran and Syria blamed Israel for the attack.

"The satanic regime has made a mistake," Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei said in a speech broadcast live on the occasion of Eid al-Fitr, adding: "It must and will be punished."

Responding to the Iranian head of state in Farsi, Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said, "If Iran carries out an attack from its territory, Israel will respond and attack Iran.”

Israel, which has often repeated that it will not allow Iran to settle on its border, has carried out hundreds of strikes in neighbouring Syria since the start of the war. These attacks have targeted Damascus forces’ positions, pro-Iranian groups and Iranian troops.

On the night from Tuesday to Wednesday, Hezbollah "infrastructure" was shelled in Syria. The Israeli army justified this attack as a means of preventing Hezbollah from taking root in Syria.