Iran has warned that it will respond with more force if Israel retaliates over this weekend’s strikes, which Tehran said were themselves a reply to an Israeli attack earlier this month on its embassy complex in Syria’s capital Damascus. “The Islamic Republic of Iran will not hesitate to exercise its inherent right of self-defense when required,” Iran’s Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the UN, Amir Saeid Iravani, said in a statement.Citing self-defense against repeated Israeli military aggressions, Iravani said the strikes were specifically in retaliation to an Israeli attack on April 1 against what Iran says were diplomatic facilities in Damascus.
Iran claims the attack violated international law and led to the death of seven Iranian military advisors, including key commanders from the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps. The statement also criticizes the United Nations Security Council for “failing to uphold international peace,” allowing Israel to “breach” established international norms and “escalate” regional tensions.Israel has carried out numerous strikes on Iran-backed targets in Syria, often targeting weapons shipments allegedly intended for Hezbollah, a powerful Iranian proxy in Lebanon. Israel has not claimed responsibility for the April 1 attack which destroyed an Iranian consulate building in the capital Damascus, including Mohammed Reza Zahedi, a top Revolutionary Guards commander.
However an Israel Defense Forces spokesman told CNN that their intelligence showed the building was not a consulate and was instead “a military building of Quds forces disguised as a civilian building.”US defensive assets moved to the region earlier this week and “helped Israel take down nearly all of the incoming drones and missiles,” according to the statement. Biden also spoke to Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu following Saturday’s attack “to reaffirm America’s ironclad commitment to the security of Israel.” I told him that Israel demonstrated a remarkable capacity to defend against and defeat even unprecedented attacks – sending a clear message to its foes that they cannot effectively threaten the security of Israel,” the president wrote.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken “will be consulting with allies and partners in the region and around the world in the hours and days ahead” following the Iranian retaliatory attack on Israel, he said in a statement dated Sunday.”The United States condemns Iran’s attack on Israel in the strongest terms,” Blinken said. “While we do not seek escalation, we will continue to support Israel’s defense, and as the President made clear, we will defend US personnel.Around 170 drones, more than 30 cruise missiles and more than 120 ballistic missiles were launched at Israel by Iran, he said, the vast majority intercepted by the Israeli Air Force and Israeli “partners.”
The ballistic missiles that did reach Israel fell on the Nevatim Airbase in southern Israel, Hagari said, adding that they caused only light structural damage. The base was functioning and continuing its operations following the attack, with planes continuing to use the base, he added.
US President Joe Biden told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a phone call that his country should consider tonight a win because the current US assessment is that Iran’s attacks had been largely unsuccessful and demonstrated Israel’s superior military capability, a senior administration official told CNN.
US forces were also involved in defending Israel, intercepting more than 70 one-way attack drones and at least three ballistic missiles, according to two US officials familiar with the situation.he unprecedented wave of strikes launched from Iran towards Israel appears to have subsided, two US officials said. The attacks lasting approximately five hours and plunge the already tinder box Middle East into uncharted territory.Iran said the overnight attacks were retaliation for a deadly Israeli strike on the Iranian consulate in Damascus, Syria, earlier this month.
The Biden administration says almost all of the drones and missiles – including more than 100 ballistic missiles – launched at Israel by Iran have been knocked out of the sky.US President Joe Biden told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a phone call that his country should consider tonight a win because the current US assessment is that Iran’s attacks had been largely unsuccessful and demonstrated Israel’s superior military capability, a senior administration official told CNN.US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has asked his Israeli counterpart, Yoav Gallant, to notify the US ahead of any potential response to the Iranian attack, according to a US official. The Israeli security cabinet has authorized the three-man war cabinet to decide on Israel’s response.
Source: Here