Iranian officials repeatedly broadcast daily threats toward Israel following the attack carried out last week in Syria, which killed six Iranian soldiers, including commanders, as well as six members of Hezbollah.
Gen. Hossein Salami, deputy commander of the Revolutionary Guards, said Israel should expect a strong reaction against it, as proven in the past by the Revolutionary Guards, and Israel will see the "destructive lightning" of the Islamic Republic.
He said that Israel is a strategic component of Iran's struggle against the United States, and therefore Iran is building military strength along Israel's borders - areas from which it can launch missiles via Hezbollah and "Palestine," as well as Shahab missiles from its own soil.
Salami further claimed that the Israeli attack strategy in the airstrike reflects the failure of the US and Israel in Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, Yemen, Bahrain and other countries, and that reality shows that these two states are in decline, so they took actions which are only a sign of weakness.
Mohsen Rafighdoost, Minister of the Revolutionary Guards, said during a memorial service held on Wednesday for the Hezbollah terrorists killed in the strike that it would pave the way for a war against Israel.
Iran's backlash follows reports Thursday that Israeli military intelligence meticulously coordinated the strike, despite earlier claims that the hit on the Iranian and Hezbollah generals were an "accident."
The strike killed Jihad Mughniyeh, son of the late Imad Mughniyeh who was Hezbollah's former military commander, and Iranian general General Mohammad Ali Allahdadi.
According to Kuwaiti sources, Israel ordered a specific assassination hit on Allahdadi as the general moved between Syrian outposts, through information gained via wiretapping.