Referring to the 1 April strike in Damascus attributed to Israel, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei asserted: “Attacking our consulate is like attacking our soil... The malicious [Israeli] regime has made a wrong move in this case. It should be punished and it will be punished”. Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz countered that “if Iran attacks from its territory, Israel will respond and attack in Iran”, while Defence Minister Yoav Gallant asserted: “Any enemy that tries to attack us, will first of all be met with a strong defence… But we will know how to react very quickly with a decisive offensive action against the territory of whoever attacks our territory, no matter where it is, in the entire Middle East”. President Biden, noting that Iran was “threatening to launch a significant attack in Israel”, declared: “Our commitment to Israel’s security against these threats from Iran and its proxies is ironclad”.