Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed that Iran will face consequences for its missile attack against Israel on Tuesday. In response, Tehran warned that any retaliation would result in “vast destruction,” heightening concerns of a broader conflict. With the United States fully backing Israel, Iran’s armed forces cautioned that any direct intervention by Israel’s allies would prompt a strong response targeting their bases and interests in the region. The prospect of a wider conflict caused oil prices to surge by 5%, and the UN Security Council has scheduled a meeting on the situation in the Middle East for Wednesday.
“Iran made a big mistake tonight – and it will pay for it,” Netanyahu said at the outset of a political-security meeting, according to a statement.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps stated that the attack was in response to Israel’s targeted killings of militant leaders, as well as their aggressive actions in Lebanon against the Iran-backed armed group Hezbollah and in Gaza. Concerns about the potential escalation of a regional conflict have increased due to Israel’s recent intensified military operations in Lebanon, including a ground offensive that began on Monday, as well as its ongoing conflict in the Gaza Strip, which has been ongoing for a year.
On Tuesday, Iran launched an attack by firing more than 180 ballistic missiles at Israel, according to Israel’s statement. Alarms went off across Israel, and explosions were heard in Jerusalem and the Jordan River valley. Israelis sought refuge in bomb shelters, and reporters on state television lay flat on the ground during live broadcasts.
Iran’s forces used hypersonic Fattah missiles for the first time, and the Revolutionary Guards claimed that 90% of the missiles successfully hit their targets in Israel.
Israeli air defences were activated, and most of the missiles were intercepted by Israel and a defensive coalition led by the United States, as stated by Israeli Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari in a video. He added, “Iran’s attack is a severe and dangerous escalation.”
Central Israel received “a small number” of hits and there were other strikes in southern Israel, he said. The Israeli military published video of a school in the central city of Gadera that was heavily damaged by an Iranian missile.
No injuries were reported in Israel, but one man was killed in the occupied West Bank, authorities there said.
US Navy warships fired about a dozen interceptors against Iranian missiles headed toward Israel, the Pentagon said.
US President Joe Biden expressed full US support for Israel and described Iran’s attack as “ineffective”. He said there was an active discussion about how Israel would respond, and he would confer with Netanyahu.
Israel vowed consequences for the onslaught.
“We will act. Iran will soon feel the consequences of their actions. The response will be painful,” Israel’s UN ambassador Danny Danon told reporters.
BharatShakti (With inputs from Reuters)
