The Supreme Commander of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Maj. Gen. Hossein Salami, stood in front of a large banner in the war room as he gave the order to launch about 200 ballistic missiles at Israel on Tuesday evening, according to a video released by Iranian media.
The banner featured photographs of three men whose deaths Iran has said it wants to avenge with a massive attack - Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh, who was killed in Tehran in July in an attack Iran blamed on Israel, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and the commander of the Quds operation. Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Major General Abbas Nilfushan, who were killed in an Israeli airstrike on Beirut last week.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps claimed that the barrage involved Fatah's supersonic missiles that took 12 minutes to reach Israel and successfully hit targets including three Israeli air bases and the headquarters of the Mossad intelligence service.
- Iran fires rockets at Israel: How big was the attack and what could happen next
- Why Iran and Israel are attacking each other
- Israel-Iran Enmity: Everything You Need to Know
However, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said most of the missiles were "intercepted by Israel and the United States-led defense coalition" and that there were "a small number of hits" in central and southern Israel.
Shortly after the attack, a huge banner was raised in Palestine Square in Tehran, showing missiles flying towards buildings in the shape of a Star of David and the words "The beginning of the end of Zionism".
Iran appeared to show restraint after Haniyeh's assassination - but that lack of action became a source of humiliation when Israel dealt a series of devastating blows to its closest and longest-serving regional ally, Hezbollah, culminating in an airstrike on Friday that killed Nasrallah and Nilfushan. .
Iranian weapons, training and funding have been key to transforming Hezbollah into Lebanon's most powerful armed forces and political actors since Iran's Revolutionary Guards helped found the group in the 1980s.
Before this month, Iranian leaders hoped that a war of attrition with Hezbollah would help wear down Israel's military, which is still fighting a war with Hamas in Gaza.
They also relied on Hezbollah and its massive missile arsenal to serve as a significant deterrent against direct Israeli attacks on their country's nuclear and missile facilities.
President Masoud Pezeshkian, who was elected in July, accused Israel of trying to provoke Iran into a regional war that would also involve the US.
"We also want security and peace. It was Israel that killed Haniyeh in Tehran," Iranian media quoted him as saying while visiting Qatar on Wednesday.
"The Europeans and the US have said that if we don't act, there will be peace in Gaza in a week. We were waiting for them to negotiate peace, but they only increased the killing."
Hard conservatives
Many hardline conservatives in Iran have become increasingly nervous about their country's lack of reaction against Israel.
Several commentators on state television - controlled by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps - argued that the decision to abandon seeking revenge for Haniyeh's killing emboldened Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to attack Iranian interests and allies in Lebanon.
After Tuesday's missile attack, the Chief of Staff of Iran's Armed Forces, Major General Mohammad Bakeri, said the time for "patience and restraint" was over.
"We targeted military and intelligence sites in Israel and deliberately refrained from targeting economic and industrial sites," he said.
"However, if Israel responds, our reaction will be even stronger."
This missile attack reflects growing concern among Iranian leaders that if they do nothing after the Israeli attacks, it will portray them as weak and vulnerable - both at home and in the eyes of their regional allies in the so-called. "Axis of resistance" which includes Hezbollah and Hamas.
"This time it's different"
Report by BBC Persian Service journalists
Iranian state television showed footage of the celebration, a group of people chanting “Bravo Khamenei! Well done Revolutionary Guard!", waving flags while shouting "Death to Israel".
But on social networks, the mood is different, some believe that this will be the beginning of a different and bigger conflict.
"This time is different," say some Iranians, who believe Israel's advanced military capabilities could wreak unimaginable destruction in the event of a full-scale war.
"No one wants war, not the people, not the people in power," wrote one social media user.
The missile attack occurred at a time when there was a glimmer of hope that a diplomatic solution to the conflict would be reached.
Mild optimism was caused by the recent election of President Masud Pezeshkiyan, who is known for his moderate views.
However, that does not seem certain now.
"I'm afraid that this war can be used as a source to intensify the attack on us, the people who are fighting for freedom," said a young activist who participated in the "Woman, Life, Freedom" protests.
She belongs to a group of Iranians who are worried that the new conflict will not only stifle calls for reform, but that the government will embark on stronger repression.
"Rat iz senke"
Iran and Israel have been engaged in a shadow war for decades, adhering to a "no war, no peace" policy.
However, that status quo seems to have ended now.
Israel vowed to respond fiercely, and Netanyahu warned that "Iran has made a big mistake and will pay for it."
There are hints of a change in tone and strategy in the US as well.
In April, President Joe Biden called for restraint after Israeli and US forces shot down most of the 300 drones and missiles fired by Iran at Israel in retaliation for an airstrike on the Iranian consulate in Syria that killed several top Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps commanders.
Israel heeded the American suggestion and responded by firing a missile that hit an Iranian anti-aircraft battery in central Iran.
But this time, Biden's national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, warned that there would be "severe consequences" for an Iranian attack and that the US would "work with Israel to make it happen."
Israeli media quoted Israeli officials as saying on Wednesday that Israel was preparing for retaliatory strikes against Iran "within days" and would target "strategic targets", including vital facilities in the country.
The officials also warned that Iran's nuclear facilities would be hit if Iran followed through on its threat to strike Israel again.
Senior Iranian officials have stated that they consider their retaliation for the murders of Haniyeh, Nasrallah and Nilforoushan to be complete unless they are further provoked.
Foreign Minister Abbas Aragachi also said he had conveyed a message to the US through the Swiss embassy in Tehran, warning them "not to intervene".
He warned: "Any third country that helps Israel or allows its airspace to be used against Iran will be considered a legitimate target."
The US has approximately 40.000 troops in the Middle East, many of them deployed in Iraq and Syria.
These troops could be threatened by Iran-backed Shiite militias in both countries.
Iran must now prepare for an Israeli response and hope that its gamble pays off.
BBC is in Serbian from now on and on YouTube, follow us HERE.
Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube i Viber. If you have a topic proposal for us, contact us at bbcnasrpskom@bbc.co.uk
Bonus video:
