Jerusalem.- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the Iranian population this Tuesday on the occasion of Nowruz (Persian New Year), in which he stated that his massive attacks on the country will allow Iranians to "celebrate" the holiday.
"Our planes are attacking terrorists on the ground, at crossroads, in city squares. This will allow the brave people of Iran to celebrate the Fire Festival," the Israeli leader stated in English in a video message published on government channels.
"So celebrate and Happy Nowruz! We are watching you from the sky," concluded Netanyahu from, according to a statement accompanying the message, a command center at the Kirya military intelligence base in Tel Aviv.
The Prime Minister made these statements accompanied by the Israeli Minister of Defense, Israel Katz, and senior security officials, including the Chief of Staff, the director of the Mossad, and the Air Force commander.
Cultural Significance of Nowruz
Nowruz, the Persian New Year, marks the beginning of spring and is one of the most important celebrations in Iran and other regions of Central Asia and the Middle East. The holiday symbolizes renewal and is usually celebrated with family gatherings, traditional rituals, and cultural events.
Israel assured this morning that it killed the secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, Ali Lariyani, in last night's bombings against Iranian "regime infrastructure."
Also killed in those attacks, according to Israel, was the commander of the Basij paramilitary militia (subordinate to the Revolutionary Guard Corps) Gholamreza Soleimani.
Furthermore, according to a spokesperson for the Israeli armed forces, they still have "thousands of targets" in Iran to attack in a war that they predicted would be long, lasting between 3 and 6 more weeks.
For its part, the Iranian government reported yesterday that 17 health workers and 206 teachers and students are among the fatalities from the attacks by the US and Israel, which damaged 61,000 homes and commercial premises, including 18,000 in Tehran.
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However, Iran has not updated the total death toll in the conflict since Thursday, March 5, when it gave an official count of 1,230 deaths.