TEHRAN: Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Saturday that Iran was determined to defend itself after Israeli warplanes struck military bases and missile sites in several Iranian provinces, killing two soldiers.

“I think we’ve shown that our determination to defend ourselves knows no limits,” Araghchi said in an interview with the official website of supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

The minister’s comments were the first by a senior Iranian official since the pre-dawn strikes.

Israel had vowed to retaliate after October 1, when Iran fired around 200 missiles in its second ever direct attack against its arch-foe.

Israel hits back at Iran with strikes on military targets, IDF says

In April, in its first direct assault against Israeli territory, Iran launched more than 300 drones and missiles.

Tehran said that barrage was retaliation for a strike on Iran’s consular annexe in Damascus that killed commanders of its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

“We will defend our territory and our homeland,” Araghchi said. “I think everyone has already seen that.”