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US believes Iran expected mass casualties in its strike against Israel

The source stressed that "neutralizing the assault was a strategic victory for Israel and its partners, and opens a window to de-escalate tensions in a Middle East region"

NEW YORK, April 15. /TASS/. US officials believe that Iran’s retaliatory strike against Israel sought to inflict mass death and destruction, but the Israeli military managed to neutralize the threat, the Semafor global news platform said.

"Iran’s weekend aerial attack on Israel was designed to cause mass casualties and infrastructure damage," the US news portal said quoting a senior US official.

"With the support of a number of partners, including the UK and France, the United States enabled Israel to spectacularly defeat this unprecedented attack," it quoted the senior White House official as saying. The source also stressed that "neutralizing the assault was a strategic victory for Israel and its partners, and opens a window to de-escalate tensions in a Middle East region."

Earlier, Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Nasser Kanaani said that his country was not trying to fan the flames in the Middle East, but was ready to respond to "any illegal and irrational moves" targeting Tehran.

On the evening of April 13, Iran launched drones and missiles toward Israel in response to what it called "repeated crimes" from Tel Aviv, including the attack on the consular office of the Iranian Embassy in Damascus ascribed to Israel. Tehran said that military facilities in Israel were targeted. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) claimed it intercepted 99% of the nearly 350 projectiles launched at Israel. Israel did not report any fatalities or serious injuries, saying minor damage had been caused to Nevatim Air Base.

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