Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has publicly expressed gratitude to Iran's armed forces one week after they targeted Israel with more than 300 missiles and drones in response to Israel's suspected bombing of Iran's embassy compound in Damascus.
The comments follow Tehran's seemingly measured response to images from April 19 showing the fiery results of what was thought to be an Israeli retaliatory attack near the Iranian city of Isfahan.
Observers suggested the absence of more threats from Iranian officials looked like an attempt to avert a broader conflict.
"How many missiles were launched and how many of them hit their target is not the primary question. What really matters is that Iran demonstrated its willpower during that operation," Khamenei said on April 21, according to official media.
But he encouraged Iran's military to "ceaselessly pursue military innovation and learn the enemy's tactics."
April 19 marked the 85th birthday of Khamenei, who holds final say on religious and political affairs in Iran.
Iranian state media quoted officials in Tehran as saying the explosions were caused by air-defense systems that shot down three drones.
Israel has not commented on the report.
Reuters, citing three sources familiar with the matter, reported that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's war cabinet initially approved plans for a strike inside Iranian territory to respond forcefully to Tehran's April 14 missile and drone strike but backed off at the last minute.
The Reuters report said Netanyahu faced cabinet divisions and strong warnings from allies -- including Washington -- not to escalate matters, leading to two postponements of the limited strikes that eventually were launched.
Speaking at a mosque on April 19, President Ebrahim Raisi didn't mention the attack near Isfahan.
Tehran launched more than 300 drones and missiles at Israel in the early morning hours of April 14, almost all of which were shot down by Israeli defense systems, along with intercepts by forces from the United States, France, Britain, and Jordan.
The attack by Tehran had been widely anticipated in Israel following a suspected Israeli air strike on the Iranian Embassy compound in Syria on April 1 that killed two brigadier generals.
Since then, diplomats and politicians around the world, fearing another major escalation of fighting in the Middle East, had urged restraint as they awaited Israel's response.
U.S. President Joe Biden has not made any statement about the alleged Israeli attack.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said it had seen no damage to Iran's nuclear sites. One of Iran’s top nuclear facilities, the installation at Natanz, is located in central Isfahan. "IAEA can confirm that there is no damage to Iran’s nuclear sites," the UN nuclear watchdog said in a post on X, formerly Twitter.
Israel and Iran have been bitter enemies for decades, but this was the first direct attack by one on the other's soil instead of through proxy forces or by targeting each other's assets operating in third countries.