Two senior Revolutionary Guards commanders said this week that the Islamic Republic is currently unable to retaliate for the October Israeli airstrike due to financial constraints and the loss of a key regional ally in Syria.
Iranian political and military officials have repeatedly threatened to launch large-scale retaliation against Israel, calling the operation “True Promise 3.” The code name refers to two missile and drone attacks carried out against Israel in 2024.
A Revolutionary Guards general stationed in Syria until recently told Iranian media that such an operation should have started sooner and that Iran is currently in no position to provoke a major conflict with Israel. He said no.
General Behruz Esbati, head of Iran’s military cyberspace command, told the conservative news website Tabnak: “We don’t know why the operation was not launched and who decided not to respond to Israel.” .
“But as someone who was on the ground in Syria, I can tell you that if Iran had retaliated against the Israeli attack, we would be in a better position today.”
Iranian forces withdrew from Syria last month in the face of a surprise rebel attack that toppled the Assad dynasty, Iran’s staunch ally for decades.
The losses were among the heaviest for Iran’s so-called Axis of Resistance in its 15-month war with Israel. The Iranian government describes the armed front as a legitimate resistance to Israel and hopes to avoid a full-scale conflict with better armed groups.
“I believe that Operation True Promise-3 is not possible under the current circumstances,” Estate added. “In the current situation, it is not in the interests of the Resistance to involve the region in a war. If we launch a new operation, the enemy will counterattack with new attacks.”
Regarding the reason for President Assad’s downfall, Esbati said, “Mr. Assad lacked the will to fight.Despite Ayatollah Khamenei’s promise that Iran would support him if he resisted, Mr. Assad was reluctant to participate in the fighting.” It was,” he said.
He also criticized Assad’s military leadership, saying, “Assad’s military commanders were corrupt and took bribes from everyone.” Esbati also accused Russia of betrayal, saying, “Russia has betrayed both Assad and Iran.” It added: “After Iran’s initial retaliation against Israeli attacks, Russia aligned itself with Israel.”
Tehran’s Didvan Iran news website quoted General Esmail Kousari, an Revolutionary Guards official and member of Iran’s parliament’s National Security Committee, as saying: “The Islamic Republic’s hands are tied. Otherwise, we would have carried out Operation True against Israel.” Promise number 3. ”
Highlighting the US’s $921 billion military budget, Kousari said, “If we were in a better financial position, we would have launched Operation True Promise 3 and even Operation 4.”
Meanwhile, the Etemad newspaper quoted Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi as saying, “Iran must learn lessons from the fall of the Assad regime in Syria.” He added: “The Syrian army was defeated before it could think of fighting or resisting.” “Syria’s defeat should serve as a lesson for us and we must not allow our enemies to spread despair inside Iran,” the foreign minister warned.
