Israel says Iran attack ‘foiled’ amid fears of wider conflict

Israel says Iran attack ‘foiled’ amid fears of wider conflict

Jerusalem: Iran’s unprecedented overnight attack on Israel has been “foiled”, the Israeli military said on Sunday, with hundreds of missiles and drones intercepted with the help of the United States and allies.

Iran had launched more than 300 drones and missiles on Israel in an unprecedented attack late on Saturday “in response” to a deadly airstrike on its Damascus consular annexe earlier this month.

Its proxies and allies also carried out coordinated attacks on Israeli positions as sirens sounded in many places and correspondents heard blasts in the skies above Jerusalem early on Sunday.

Iran had repeatedly threatened to strike Israel in retaliation for a deadly April 1 air strike on its Damascus consular annexe and Washington had warned repeatedly in recent days that the reprisals were imminent.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) launched “extensive” retaliatory drone and missile strikes — as part of what they called the Operation ‘True Promise’ — against “certain targets” inside Israel.

Israel’s military said the drones, which Iraqi security sources said were seen flying over the country from Iran, would take hours to reach their targets, after the IRGC announced that Operation ‘True Promise’ was part of “punishment for Israeli crimes”.

Iran launched more than 300 drones and missiles towards Israel in its unprecedented attack overnight, injuring at least 12 people, an Israeli army spokesman said.

“Last night Iran fired over 300 ballistic missiles, UAVs and cruise missiles towards Israel,” military spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari told a televised statement, revising an earlier figure of more than 200 launches.

Hagari said 170 drones and 30 cruise missiles were launched, none of which entered Israeli territory, adding that 110 ballistic missiles were also fired and few of them reached Israel.

In a separate statement, the Israeli military said that “dozens of surface-to-surface missile launches” were identified, with the majority intercepted before crossing into Israeli territory.

One of those injured was a seven-year-old girl from a Bedouin community near the southern town of Arad, who was in intensive care, according to the medical centre that received her.

People in Jerusalem sought cover, as residents also stockpiled water. “As you can see it’s empty, everybody is running home,” said Eliyahu Barakat, a 49-year-old grocery shop owner in Jerusalem’s Mamilla neighbourhood.

Early on Sunday, the Israeli army said that 99 per cent of the launches had been intercepted. “The Iranian attack was foiled,” military spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said in a televised statement.

The army said it had scrambled dozens of fighter jets to intercept “all aerial threats”, and was working with the US and other allies to stop the launches.

Iran urged Israel not to retaliate militarily to the overnight attack, which Tehran said was a justified response to the strike that destroyed its consulate building in Damascus.

The Iranian army said the attack had “achieved all its objectives”.

“Operation Honest Promise… was completed successfully from last night to this morning and achieved all its objectives”, Mohammad Bagheri, the Iranian armed forces’ chief of staff, told state TV.

“Iran’s military action was in response to the Zionist regime’s aggression against our diplomatic premises in Damascus,” the Iranian mission to the UN said. The attack, according to the mission, was “conducted on the strength of Article 51 of the UN Charter pertaining to legitimate defence”.

“If necessary”, Tehran “will not hesitate to take defensive measures to protect its interests against any aggressive military action,” Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.

Experts have suggested that Saturday’s slow-moving drone attack was calibrated to represent a show of power but also allow some wiggle room.

“It appears that Iran telegraphed its attack on Israel to demonstrate it can strike using different capabilities to complicate the (Israeli army’s) ability to neutralise the assault but also to provide an off ramp to pause escalation,” said Nishank Motwani, senior analyst at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute in Washington.

Earlier, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards confirmed a retaliatory drone and missile attack was under way against Israel in retaliation for the Damascus strike which killed seven Guards, two of them generals. The Guards said its ballistic missiles were fired almost an hour after the slower-moving drones.

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