Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed on Sunday his country would achieve victory after the military said it shot down almost all the more than 300 drones and missiles launched by Iran in a sharp escalation of the Middle East conflict.
This from newsmax.com.
Combating Iran has especially been a focus of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who said shortly before he returned to office, in late 2022:
Israel faced three challenges: Iran, Iran, Iran. Because all the other challenges pale in comparison if we are threatened by a regime that calls for our destruction, that is armed with the weapons of mass death.
Tehran’s attacks late Saturday—launched in response to a suspected Israeli air strike on its embassy compound in Damascus on April 1 that killed officers of the elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps—raised the threat of a wider regional conflict. Israel has neither confirmed nor denied responsibility for the consulate attack.
Iran had relied on its proxies across the region to attack Israeli and U.S. targets in a show of support for the Palestinian militant group Hamas in the Gaza war with Israel, which has shown no sign of easing despite numerous mediation efforts.
Netanyahu posted on X Sunday:
We intercepted, we repelled, together we shall win.
The Israeli military said the armed forces had shot down more than 99% of the Iranian drones and missiles and were discussing follow-up options.
Israel’s Channel 12 TV cited an unnamed Israeli official as saying:
[T]here [will] be a significant response to the attack.
The war in Gaza—Israel’s response to a brazen, deadly attack by Iran-backed Hamas on Oct. 7—has ratcheted up tensions in the region, spreading to fronts with Lebanon and Syria and drawing long-range fire at Israeli targets from as far away as Yemen and Iraq.
Iran’s most powerful ally in the region, the Lebanese Shi’ite group Hezbollah—which has been exchanging fire with Israel since the Gaza war began—said early on Sunday it had fired rockets at an Israeli base.
British maritime security company Ambrey said in a statement:
Drones were also reportedly launched against Israel by Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi group, which has attacked shipping lanes in an around the Red Sea to show solidarity with Hamas.
Those clashes now threaten to morph into a direct open conflict pitting Iran and its regional allies against Israel and its main supporter, the United States.
Regional power Egypt urged “utmost restraint.”
Israel’s chief military spokesperson, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, called Iran’s actions “very grave,” telling a televised briefing they “push the region toward escalation.”
Hagari said:
Iran launched dozens of ground-to-ground missiles at Israel, including more than 10 cruise missiles, and most were intercepted outside Israeli borders.
Further:
The Iranian salvo caused light damage to one Israeli military facility.
The Israeli military said it was not advising residents to prepare to take shelter—having revised an earlier alert—in an apparent signal of the end of the threat.
The Iranian mission to the United Nations warned the U.S. to “stay away.”
Should the Israeli regime make another mistake,
Iran’s response will be considerably more severe.
However, Iran also said they now “deemed the matter concluded.”
The U.N. Security Council was set to meet at 4 p.m. ET (2000 GMT) on Sunday after Israel requested it condemn Iran’s attack and designate the Revolutionary Guards a terrorist organization.
Iran’s Fars news agency quoted a source as having said:
Tehran was closely watching Jordan, which might become the next target in case of any moves in support of Israel.
Two regional security sources said:
Jordan, which lies between Iran and Israel, had readied air defenses to intercept any drone or missile that violated its territory.
NOTE: Despite warnings from Iran, the attack was stemmed with help from Israel’s allies.
The United States and United Kingdom helped shoot down missiles, as did Jordan, which shot down projectiles over its airspace.
Needless to say—like talking of tits on a boar—the European Union, Britain, Japan, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Mexico, the Netherlands and Norway condemned Iran’s attack.
