TEHRAN – Major General Qassem Soleimani, commander of the IRGC Quds Force, has slammed the recent Israeli attacks on a number of positions in regional countries, saying the “insane operations” were Tel Aviv’s last struggles.

“Definitely these insane operations will be the last struggles of the Zionist regime,” Major General Qassem Soleimani said, according to a Twitter account attributed to him.

It came days after Israel said it had launched air raids against Iranian targets near the Syrian capital city of Damascus. The Israeli military claimed its raids had prevented an attack on the Israeli-occupied territories “using killer drones.”

In a statement issued after the Israeli army announced its attack, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised the Israeli military for its “major operational effort.”

Iran, however, dismissed as mere “lies” the claim that Iranian targets have been hit by the Israeli attacks.

“This is a lie and is not true,” said Mohsen Rezaee, a former chief of the IRGC. “The U.S. and Israel do not have the power to attack Iran’s centers and positions and the Zionist regime’s claims about targeting Iranian positions are lies.”

Israel has also reportedly targeted positions in Syria and Lebanon.

According to the New York Times, Israel has carried out several attacks targeting bases of Iraq’s popular forces. Two senior American officials told the newspaper that the attacks targeted Iraqi munition storehouses, alleging that the site was being used “to transfer weapons to Syria.”

Responding to the report, Iraqi Vice President Nouri al-Maliki warned of a “strong response” if it is proven that the Israeli regime was behind the attacks against the positions of pro-government Popular Mobilization Units (PMU).

Maliki, who is also secretary-general of the Islamic Dawa Party, said on Friday that if Israel continues to target Iraq, the country “will transform into a battle arena that drags in multiple countries, including Iran.”

“The security of the region, which Iraq is a key part of, is a collective issue, and its protection requires the (full) responsibility of all countries,” he added.

Also, after two Israeli drones crashed in a southern neighborhood of Beirut, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, the secretary general of Hezbollah, said fighters from the movement will counter any further violation of the Lebanese airspace by Israeli unmanned aerial vehicles, warning the Tel Aviv regime to immediately cease such breaches.

“Hezbollah will endeavor to shoot down all Israeli drones, which may violate Lebanon’s airspace,” Nasrallah stated in a televised speech on Sunday evening.

The Hezbollah chief made the comments a day after two Israeli drones crashed in a southern neighborhood of Beirut.

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