Iran launched a over 300 cruise missiles, ballistic missiles and drones toward Israel on Saturday night in response to an attack on an Iranian diplomatic complex in Syria this month.
This marks the first time Iran has directly attacked Israel from Iranian territory, risking a wider regional conflict amid Israel’s continuing war on Gaza since October. Israel, Lebanon and Iraq closed their airspaces, and Syria and Jordan put their air defenses on alert before the attack.
Air-raid sirens blared across Israel and explosions were heard over Jerusalem as Israel’s Iron Dome air-defense system kicked in.
More than 300 projectiles, including around 170 drones and over 120 ballistic missiles, were fired toward Israel in an immense aerial attack overnight, but “99%” of them were intercepted by Israel’s aerial defense systems and its “partners,” according to the Israeli military.
Watch as projectiles light up the Tel Aviv sky as IDF says it has intercepted 99% of Iranian attacks overnight.
— Sky News (@SkyNews) April 14, 2024
According to the IDF, Iran launched more than 300 drones and missiles towards Israel
Updates: https://t.co/PAiZ4D1jU3 pic.twitter.com/9gYblET0Mo
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said that the Israelis should remain alert. “We must be prepared for every scenario. Having said this, we have thwarted the most significant wave [of the attack], and we did so successfully,” he said.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry claimed the attack showed Iran’s “responsible approach to regional and international peace and security at a time [of] illegal and genocidal actions by the Zionist apartheid regime against the Palestinian people.”
Iran hails ‘success’ in unprecedented attack
Hossein Salami, the commander-in-chief of n Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards (IRGC),told state media that information is still coming in, but the initial Iranian assessment is that the operation achieved “a level of success that exceeded our expectations”. “
Salami said the US and France provided air cover for Israel in Iraq, Jordan and even parts of Syria, but “tens” of drones and cruise and ballistic missiles managed to hit through the layers of defensive capabilities.
Gen. Mohammad Hossein Bagheri, the chief of staff of the Iranian armed forces, said the operation was over, and added that “We have no intention of continuing the operation against Israel.”
Iran has warned that it will respond with “stronger and more resolute” actions if Israel retaliates over this weekend’s strikes, according to Tehran’s ambassador to the United Nations.
In Tehran, several hundred supporters of the Iranian government gathered in the middle of the night at Palestine Square and in front of Tehran University to celebrate the attacks on Israel, according to videos shared on social media. The crowd chanted “death to Israel” as fireworks went off as they praised the chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps for carrying out the attacks.
Israel’s response to Iranian attack
Nearly 99 percent of the aerial threats launched at Israel on Saturday were intercepted and only a few of the ballistic missiles got through, Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, the chief spokesman for the military, said.
Reports and videos shared on social media showed alleged video of Iranian attack on Nevatim air force base in the Negev desert southern Israel suffered. However, Israeli officials said that suffered only light damage and was functioning. “Iran thought it would paralyze the base,” Rear Admiral Hagari said. “It failed.”
The strikes caused only minor damage to one Israeli military base, and most of the airborne threats were intercepted before reaching Israeli territory, according to Israeli military. The United States and United Kingdom also helped Israel shoot dozens of drones and missiles.
Responding to the overnight Iranian assault, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wrote on X: “We intercepted. We blocked. Together we will win.”
The U.S. and Israel had been bracing for an attack for days after Iran said it would retaliate for a suspected Israeli strike on an Iranian consular building in Syria that killed 12 people, including senior Iranian generals.
US, UK and France help Israel shoot down Iran-launched attack drones
US and UK helped Israel shoot down Iranian drones over Jordan, Iraq and Syria. Jordan and France also helped to intercept the massive barrage of drones Iran fired at Israel.
The Pentagon said its forces intercepted “dozens of missiles” and drones launched from Iran, Iraq, Syria and Yemen that were headed toward Israel. U.S. forces intercepted more than 70 one-way attack drones and at least 3 ballistic missiles Iran fired toward Israel, according to U.S. reports.
U.S. President Joe Biden lauded American forces who helped Israel down “nearly all” of the drones and missiles fired by Iran and. “At my direction, to support the defense of Israel, the U.S. military moved aircraft and ballistic missile defense destroyers to the region over the course of the past week,” Biden said in a statement. “Thanks to these deployments and the extraordinary skill of our servicemembers, we helped Israel take down nearly all of the incoming drones and missiles.”
UK Royal Air Force fighter jets and refuelling aircraft were also involved in countering Iranian attacks, taking off from bases in Cyprus. “In response to increased Iranian threats and the growing risk of escalation in the Middle East, the UK government has been working with partners across the region to encourage de-escalation and prevent further attacks,” UK defense ministry statement said.
World reaction to Iran-Israel tensions
Several Western nations condemned Tehran’s barrage of ballistic missiles and drones against targets in Israel.
U.S. President Joe Biden promised “ironclad” support for Israel after holding an urgent meeting with top security officials. “I just met with my national security team for an update on Iran’s attacks against Israel. Our commitment to Israel’s security against threats from Iran and its proxies is ironclad,” Biden said, posting a picture on social media of the meeting in the White House Situation Room.
Biden said he would convene a meeting of the Group of Seven advanced democracies on Sunday “to coordinate a united diplomatic response to Iran’s brazen attack.” However, Biden told the Israeli prime minister during a call that the US will not support any Israeli counterattack against Iran, Axios reported.
European Council President Charles Michel said EU leaders “strongly condemn” the attack by Iran on Israel. “Everything must be done to prevent further regional escalation,” he said in a post on X. “More bloodshed must be avoided. We will continue to follow the situation closely with our partners,” Michel added.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen denounced “Iran’s blatant and unjustifiable attack on Israel,” in a statement on X. “I call on Iran and its proxies to immediately cease these attacks.”
United Kingdom Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said the Iranian strikes “risk inflaming tensions and destabilizing the region.” Tehran has “demonstrated that it is intent on sowing chaos in its own backyard,” he said. “The UK will continue to stand up for Israel’s security and that of all our regional partners, including Jordan and Iraq. Alongside our allies, we are urgently working to stabilise the situation and prevent further escalation. No one wants to see more bloodshed”, Sunak said in a statement.
British Foreign Secretary David Cameron called on Iran to stop the serious escalation.
French President Emmanuel Macron condemned the Iranian attack in strongest words. Macron wrote, “I condemn in the strongest terms the unprecedented attack launched by Iran on Israel, which threatens to destabilize the region”. He also expressed solidarity with the Israeli people and France’s commitment to Israel’s security, our partners, and regional stability. “France is working with its partners to de-escalate the situation and calls for restraint.’”
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell called the Iranian attack “an unprecedented escalation and a grave threat to regional security.”
Antonio Guterres, the UN secretary general, called for an immediate de-escalation in the Middle East and said in a statement, “I strongly condemn the serious escalation represented by the large-scale attack launched on Israel by the Islamic Republic of Iran this evening.” He called for an immediate cessation of hostilities, warning that the region was at risk of plunging into a deeper and wider war on multiple fronts. “I have repeatedly stressed that neither the region nor the world can afford another war.”
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said his nation “unequivocally condemns Iran’s airborne attacks against Israel.” “We stand with Israel. After supporting Hamas’ brutal October 7 attack, the Iranian regime’s latest actions will further destabilize the region and make lasting peace more difficult,” Trudeau said in a statement.
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said that Germany condemns “in the strongest possible terms the ongoing attack, which could plunge an entire region into chaos. Iran and its proxies must stop it immediately,” Baerbock wrote. “We offer Israel our full solidarity at this time.”
Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Ministry has expressed concern over the “military escalation” in the region and called for restraint from all parties to avert the “dangers of wars”.
Egypt’s Foreign Ministry expressed its “deep concern” at the escalation of hostilities and called for “maximum restraint.” The ministry’s statement also warned of the “risk of the regional expansion of the conflict,” and added that Egypt would be “in direct contact with all parties to the conflict to try and contain the situation.”
The Netherlands, Austria and the Czech Republic also condemned the attack, while Spain and Portugal called for de-escalation.