The Iranian Defense Ministry announced a "rat hunt"

A brief message appeared in the TC of the Iranian Ministry of Defense: "It's time to hunt rats." On national television, the black mourning flags were replaced by national ones with the explanation "Mourning is over — now the march to glory begins."

Photos of Iranian special forces and dozens of ballistic missiles in underground shelters also appeared on the channel.

At the same time, the Iranian Defense Ministry acknowledged the death of several military leaders from the Israeli attack that night.:

"It is with deep sorrow... that we announce the martyrdom of senior commanders of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) — Major General Mohammad Bagheri (Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces), Major General Gholam Ali Rashid (Commander of the central headquarters of Khatam al-Anbia) and Major General Hossein Salami (Commander-in-Chief of the IRGC), as well as a number of respected scientists, fellow citizens and especially innocent women and children as a result of the criminal airstrike of the Zionist regime".

The Iranian Defense Ministry said that retaliation is now "a sacred mission and will continue until justice prevails."

"Now that the Zionist occupation regime has crossed all red lines, there are no restrictions on Iran's response," the statement said.