She continued: “The question is, will Iran respond in a manner that deescalates the situation, or will it climb further up the escalation ladder?

“[The strike] should have a strategic effect on how the Quds Force operates abroad and should erode any semblance of invincibility or deniability that this terrorist organization only brings instability and violence to the places it seeks to operate.”

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi said after the attack: “After repeated defeats and failures against the faith and will of the Resistance Front fighters, the Zionist regime has put blind assassinations on its agenda in the struggle to save itself.”

Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei added: “The evil Zionist regime will be punished at the hands of our brave men. We will make them regret this crime and the other ones.”