From CNN’s Alireza Hajihosseini and Eyad KourdiIran 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.
Should the Israeli regime commit any military aggression again, Iran’s response will assuredly and decisively be stronger and more resolute,” Ambassador Iravani added.
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.
Additional context: 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.”
Iran’s attack on Israel lasted about five hours, officials say. Here’s what we know
From CNN staffThe 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.
Here’s what we know so far:
- No direct casualties: There have been no reports of injuries suffered directly through Iranian strikes, according to Israel’s emergency service. However, However, a 7-year-old girl was severely injured by shrapnel from an interceptor missile while 31 people were treated for minor injuries or panic attacks.
- G7 leaders to meet: Biden will meet with G7 leaders Sunday “to coordinate a united diplomatic response to Iran’s brazen attack,” according to a statement released by the White House. The leaders of Canada and Portugal condemned Iran’s attack, while the prime minister of Spain expressed his “utmost concern.”
- No US offensive involvement: The US will not participate in any offensive operations against Iran, Biden has made clear to Netanyahu, a senior administration official told CNN.
- How it started: Earlier this month, an airstrike destroyed Iran’s consulate building in Damascus, Syria, and killed seven Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps officials — including top commanders, according to Iranian officials and state-affiliated media. The foreign ministers of Iran and Syria accused Israel of authoring the attack. Iran vowed to retaliate.
- More on Iran’s position: Iran’s regional allies say they entered confrontations with Israel on behalf of Palestinians in Gaza, Since the outbreak of war in Gaza, Iran’s proxies have launched attacks on Israel and its allies, while demanding a ceasefire in the Palestinian enclave.
- What this means: The beginning of a state-on-state conflict between Iran and Israel marks a serious escalation in the region – a scenario that the US has hoped to avoid since the start of the Israel-Hamas war in October.
Biden told Netanyahu US will not participate in offensive operations against Iran, US official says
From CNN’s MJ LeeThe US will not participate in any offensive operations against Iran, US President Joe Biden has made clear to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a senior administration official told CNN.
The comments were relayed during the phone call that the two leaders shared in the aftermath of Iran’s retaliatory strikes against Israel.
Biden tells Netanyahu tonight was a win, nothing of “value” hit in Israel, US official says
From CNN’s MJ LeeIsrael 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, President Joe Biden told Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in their phone call, a senior administration official told CNN.
The US’s assessment tonight was that almost all of the drones and missiles – including more than 100 ballistic missiles — launched by Iran had been knocked out of the sky. No cruise missile made impact, the official said, and nothing of “value” was hit.
No reports of injuries directly through Iranian strikes, according to Israel’s emergency service
From CNN’s Benjamin Brown in LondonThere have been no reports of injuries suffered directly through Iranian strikes, according to Israel’s emergency service.
However, the Magen David Adom (MDA) emergency service said it was called to treat a total of 31 people who suffered minor injuries while making their way to shelters and who suffered panic attacks during the drone and missile attacks.
Earlier, MDA said it had taken a 7-year-old girl to hospital who had suffered a severe head injury due to shrapnel from an interceptor missile that was launched to intercept an Iranian projectile.READ FULL ARTICLE HERE>>>>
Israeli military says more than 55 rockets fired from Lebanon to Israel over past hour
More than 55 rockets have been fired from Lebanon to Israel over the past hour, according to the Israeli military’s spokesperson.
This comes after about 40 rockets were fired at Israel from southern Lebanon on Friday, according to the Israel Defense Forces. Hezbollah militants said they had fired the rockets at Israeli artillery positions in response to recent Israeli attacks and in support of Palestinian people in Gaza.
Remember: Since the start of the Hamas-Israel war on October 7, Israel’s flare-up with Hezbollah has intensified on Lebanon’s southern border with Israel.
Hezbollah — a Lebanese armed group backed by Iran — has its main area of operations there. Hezbollah has frequently fired missiles into Israel since October 7 and Israel has responded with its own fire, including airstrikes. Israel has ordered the evacuation of communities along the Lebanese border.
Iran’s attack on Israel lasted about five hours, US officials say
From CNN’s Oren LiebermannThe wave of strikes launched from Iran towards Israel appears to have subsided, two US officials said. The attacks lasted approximately five hours.
Early Sunday morning in Israel, the country’s Home Front Command canceled its request for citizens to remain near shelters, an indication that the Israeli military believes the immediate threat of incoming attack has passed.
The US, along with Israel, monitored the barrage of drone and missile attacks that began Saturday night and continued into early Sunday morning. The number of launches appeared to fall during Sunday’s early hours, the officials said.
US forces throughout the region were positioned to provide defensive support to Israel ahead of the attack, and the US intended to intercept as many of the launches as it could. US forces intercepted a number of drones intended for Israel as part of a coordinated defensive effort, and Washington remains vigilant for the potential of more activity.
However, even as the number of Iranian drone and missile launches has fallen, Iranian proxy Hezbollah in Lebanon fired a barrage of rockets at northern Israel early Sunday morning.
“Whoever harms us, we will harm them,” says Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement on Saturday that Israel had been preparing for an attack from Iran.
“In recent years, and especially in recent weeks, Israel has been preparing for a direct attack by Iran,” he said.
“Our defensive systems are deployed; we are ready for any scenario, both defensively and offensively. The State of Israel is strong. The IDF is strong. The public is strong,” he said.
Netanyahu thanked the US, Britain, France and its other allies for “standing alongside Israel.”
“We have determined a clear principle: Whoever harms us, we will harm them. We will defend ourselves against any threat and will do so level-headedly and with determination,” his statement said.
US has significant military presence in region and has said it will defend Israel
From CNN’s Haley BritzkyAhead of Iran launching dozens of drones toward Israel, President Joe Biden on Friday made clear the US would help defend its ally.
“We are devoted to the defense of Israel,” he said from the White House. “We will support Israel. We will help defend Israel and Iran will not succeed.”
The US has forces in Iraq and Syria that could potentially intercept drones en route to Israel, depending on the location from which they’re launched. US Navy forces in the Red Sea have previously intercepted long-range missiles launched from the Houthis in Yemen toward Israel.
Troops in region: There are thousands of US troops throughout the Middle East, and a US defense official told CNN this week that the Defense Department was moving additional assets to the Middle East.
At the start of the war between Israel and Hamas, the US shifted a significant number of assets to the Middle East in an attempt to act as a deterrence and prevent the conflict from spilling out into the region more broadly.
Another roughly 1,000 US troops are still en route to help set up a floating pier that will be used to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza. Pentagon spokesperson Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said this week that it was still on track to be operational by late April or early May.
Strike group: The USS Dwight D. Eisenhower carrier strike group remains in the region. The strike group includes 6,000 sailors, the Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Philippine Sea (CG 58), and Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers USS Mason (DDG 87) and USS Gravely (DDG 107). The group also includes Carrier Air Wing Three, which is composed of nine squadrons, including four strike fighter squadrons.
Houthi attacks: For the last several months, the US has continuously shot down missiles, rockets, and drones launched by the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen, as well as attacks launched by Iran-backed proxy groups in Iraq and Syria. Three US soldiers were killed in January when a drone was launched at a small US outpost in Jordan.
CENTCOM leader: Gen. Erik Kurilla, the commander of CENTCOM who is the senior general overseeing US forces in the Middle East, was in Israel on Friday for meetings with his Israeli counterparts. A US official told CNN on Saturday that Kurilla had left the country.READ FULL ARTICLE HERE>>>>
