By Galit Altstein, Patrick Sykes and Paul Wallace
Israel and allies including the US, Britain and France managed to largely thwart an unprecedented attack by Iran on the Jewish state.
The Islamic Republic fired more than 300 drones and missiles into Israel on Saturday evening. Nearly all were intercepted before reaching Israeli airspace and no fatalities were reported. A 10-year-old girl in Israel was seriously injured by falling shrapnel, while an army base was slightly damaged.
US President Joe Biden said he condemned the attack – the first from Iranian soil against Israel – in the strongest terms and Israeli officials warned it was “a serious and dangerous escalation” from Tehran.
The White House and European officials have urged Israel to show restraint in avoiding direct conflict with Iran, which could hit the global economy and raise oil and gas prices. Biden wants to avoid that, especially in an election year.
Iran vowed to attack Israel after its embassy complex in Syria was hit by missiles on April 1, killing seven Iranian officers. Saturday night’s attack was a legitimate response, the report said.
Tehran said there would be no further attacks as long as Israel did not aggressively retaliate. It warned of “significantly heavier” attacks if Israel chose that option.
“We consider this operation as a complete result and there is no intention to continue,” Iranian Army Chief of Staff Mohammad Bagheri told state TV on Sunday.
The attacks were marked to such an extent that Iranian state media announced the firing of drones just hours before they were due to enter Israeli territory. Many Western diplomats said this was to ensure damage was limited and casualties were kept to a minimum.
Stock markets in Israel, Saudi Arabia and elsewhere in the Middle East fell on Sunday, but only slightly.
“Iran designed its retaliation to cause maximum symbolism but minimum damage,” said Ziad Daoud, chief emerging markets economist at Bloomberg Economics. “On its own it should not move the markets. But if it provokes an Israeli counter-reaction, we will find ourselves in a very dangerous situation. The key to what happens next is whether the US can rein in the Israeli response.”
‘crush’
Still, some Israeli ministers called for an aggressive response. National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir said there should be a “crushing attack” on Iran, while Foreign Minister Israel Katz said the country would strike back directly on Iranian soil.
The Israeli army emphasized that Iran wanted to cause a lot of damage.
“Iran wanted to get results, but it didn’t get results,” said Daniel Hagari, the IDF’s main spokesman. “She wanted much greater damage than what happened.”
Iran said there was a “new equation” between itself and Israel. It suggested it was prepared for a more direct role in the shadow war with Israel, usually fought through its proxy militias in the Middle East.
“If at any time the Zionist regime attacks our interests, assets, people or citizens, from now on we will counter the attack from the Islamic Republic of Iran,” a commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps said on state television.
Biden will speak with leaders of the Group of Seven on Sunday “to coordinate a unified diplomatic response,” according to a White House statement.
He spoke to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and reiterated that Washington’s support for the country was “rock solid.” However, he said the US would not support an Israeli counterattack on Iran, Axios reported, citing an unidentified White House official.
“The president has been clear: We don’t want to see this escalate,” John Kirby, a spokesman for Biden, told NBC. “We are not looking for a broader war with Iran.”
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen condemned Iran’s attacks and said that “all actors must now refrain from further escalation and work to restore stability in the region.”
Israel’s cabinet is expected to meet on Sunday afternoon to discuss the country’s response.
“This campaign is not over and we must remain prepared,” said Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. “Israel withstood the attack tonight. The Israeli army blocked this attack in the most impressive way, together with our partners. Tonight the whole world saw what Iran is, a country of terror.”
In the aftermath of the Syrian attack, gold and oil prices rose. Brent climbed above $90 a barrel and analysts said it could reach $100 in a direct conflict between Iran and Israel. The Israeli shekel weakened.
On Sunday, Israeli stocks fluctuated between losses and gains. In Tel Aviv, they were up 0.3% at 4 p.m. Saudi Arabia, which said it was “deeply concerned about military escalation developments in the region,” saw its main stock market fall 0.3%.
Missile barrage
The Israeli military said Iran has launched about 170 drones, 30 cruise missiles and 120 ballistic missiles. Only the latter entered Israeli airspace and in “very small numbers,” the IDF said. The drones and cruise missiles were all intercepted before reaching Israel.
Alarms were sounded in several locations in Israel, including Beer Sheva and Dimona in the south and Jerusalem, as well as in the Jewish settlement of Ariel in the West Bank. Residents of Jerusalem heard explosions. The IDF said it has shut down navigation services in some areas to hinder incoming GPS-guided projectiles.
A US defense official confirmed that its forces in the region – which have increased since the war between Israel and Hamas broke out on October 7 – have shot down drones launched by Iran. British and French forces were also involved.
“Thanks to this commitment and the extraordinary skills of our military, we have helped Israel shoot down nearly all incoming drones and missiles,” Biden said.
Israel has significantly improved its air defenses over the past fifteen years, adding new systems for intercepting ballistic missiles fired from a distance of 2,400 kilometers (1,500 miles). That range includes Iran, which earlier this year demonstrated ballistic missiles capable of reaching as far as Israel.
Israel’s most active and best-known air defense is Iron Dome, which has intercepted thousands of rockets fired by Palestinian militants in Gaza since 2011. But Iron Dome is designed for short-range missiles and drones, and is just one of the advanced missile defense systems in place.
Israel also has a medium to long range interceptor known as David’s Sling and the Arrow defense system.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was one of the first leaders to respond to Iran’s attack. “The UK will continue to stand up for Israel’s security and that of all our regional partners,” he said.
France, Germany and Japan also condemned Iran’s actions.
China said Iran’s attack was “the latest manifestation of the spillover of the Gaza conflict” and called for an immediate ceasefire there.
The attack could worsen a conflict in the Middle East that began when thousands of Hamas operatives pushed into Israel from Gaza in October, killing about 1,200 people and kidnapping 250. Israel’s retaliatory air and ground strikes have killed more than 33,000 people in Gaza, according to Hamas. -leadership of the Ministry of Health on Palestinian territory. That has provoked anger in the Muslim world and beyond.
Hamas is designated as a terrorist organization by the US and the EU.
A direct clash between Iran and Israel could attract the Lebanon-based group Hezbollah, which like Hamas is backed by Iran, and raise the possibility of a regional war. Oil supplies from the Persian Gulf could also be curtailed.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei repeatedly warned that Israel would be “punished” for the deadly attack in Damascus, which destroyed the Islamic Republic’s consulate building and killed at least 13 people. Israel has neither claimed responsibility nor denied it.
One of the officers killed was Mohammadreza Zahedi, an IRGC general and the highest-ranking Iranian killed since the US, under then-President Donald Trump, killed Qassem Soleimani in Iraq in 2020.
After Soleimani’s death, Iran launched attacks on US military bases but killed no one. Iran threatened again on Sunday to attack US bases in the Middle East if the White House helped Israel respond to Saturday evening’s attack.
Iran supports anti-Israel and anti-American groups throughout the region. Together they are often referred to as the ‘axis of resistance’. This includes Hamas and Hezbollah, but also the Houthis in Yemen and militias in Syria and Iraq.
The Houthis used the war in Gaza as a pretext for rocket attacks on commercial ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, while Hezbollah has exchanged fire across the border with Israel almost daily since the incursion.
The Iranian-backed groups in Iraq and Syria regularly targeted American bases with missiles and drones at the end of last year and in January. Those attacks largely stopped after three U.S. soldiers in Jordan were killed by a drone in late January and the Pentagon responded by attacking Iran-linked facilities in the region.
Hamas talks stagnate
Also on Sunday, Israel said Hamas had rejected the latest ceasefire proposal from mediators.
According to the Mossad, Israel’s external intelligence service, Hamas rejected the mediators’ proposal.
While the Mossad did not directly say that Iran’s drone and missile attacks on Israel were to blame, it did say that Hamas leader in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar, “continues to exploit the tension with Iran” and “not support a humanitarian deal and the return of Israel.” of the hostages.”
The US, Qatar and Egypt are mediating in the talks.