Latest:
- Iran has threatened further attacks if Israel retaliates.
- Israel will impose a price from Iran at the appropriate time, the minister said.
- Israel has reported light damage as most of its missiles and drones were intercepted.
- G7 leaders are scheduled to meet on Sunday afternoon.
- Some airlines will cancel and reroute flights in the region.
Iran’s top commanders warned Israel on Sunday that it would face a bigger attack if it retaliated against nighttime drone and missile attacks, and the US government has been instructed not to support any military action by the ally. He added that there is.
“If Israel retaliates against Iran, our response will be much larger than tonight’s military action,” said the army’s chief of staff, Afghan Maj. Gen. Mohammad Bagheri told state television, adding that Iran had warned the US government that US military bases would be targeted if it supported Israeli retaliation.
Hossein Salami, commander of the elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, also warned that Tehran would retaliate against any Israeli attacks on its interests, officials or people.
Israel has reported minor damage and reopened its airspace after Iran launched an unprecedented direct attack on Israeli territory, but the United States said on Sunday it would discuss a diplomatic response with major powers.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed his country would emerge victorious after the military announced it had launched nearly all of its drones and missiles with support from allies such as the United States and Jordan.
According to Israel, Iran launched a total of 170 drones, more than 30 cruise missiles and more than 120 ballistic missiles.
retaliatory attack
The Iranian government launched the attack late Saturday, following an April 1 Israeli airstrike on the embassy compound in Damascus that allegedly killed officers of the elite Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps. The threat of regional conflict has increased.
Israel did not claim responsibility for the airstrike that killed Brigadier General John. Mohammad Reza Zahedi, a senior commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards’ Overseas Quds Force, and six other officers attended a meeting on the premises of the Damascus embassy.
But Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Israel “must and will be punished” for the operation, which he described as tantamount to an attack on Iranian territory.
Until now, Iran has relied on 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, despite repeated efforts to mediate. There are no signs of easing.
“We intercepted and repulsed. Together we will win,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wrote on X.
The Israeli military said it was discussing additional options after its forces and allies shot down more than 99% of Iranian drones and missiles.
Israel’s chief military spokesman, Maj. Gen. Daniel Hagari, said the Iranian salvo caused light damage to one Israeli military installation.
The war in Gaza has heightened tensions in the region and has spread to the front lines with Lebanon and Syria, with long-range fire hitting Israeli targets from as far away as Yemen and Iraq.
Israel has been at war with Hamas for the past six months, a conflict that erupted after a surprise attack by Hamas and Islamic Jihad militants on October 7. Approximately 1,200 people were killed in Israel and approximately 250 were taken hostage. during the raid, Israeli officials said.
More than 33,000 people have died in the Gaza Strip since the war, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health. Concerns continue that the conflict could spread beyond Gaza’s borders.
risk of escalation
The Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, Iran’s strongest ally in the region, which has been exchanging fire with Israel since the start of the Gaza war, said it fired rockets at an Israeli base early Sunday. .
British maritime security company Ambry said in a statement that Yemen’s Iranian-linked Houthis, who have attacked the Red Sea and surrounding shipping lanes in a show of solidarity with Hamas, also launched drones against Israel.
Regional power Egypt called for “utmost restraint” to avoid further escalation.
On Sunday, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian said his country had notified the United States that its attacks against Israel were “limited” and in self-defense.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has vowed to avenge the killing of several senior Iranian military officials in an Israeli attack on an embassy compound in Damascus.
Biden calls for G7 meeting
Iran said the attack was punishment for “Israel’s crimes.”
Iran’s mission to the United Nations said, “If the Israeli regime makes another mistake, Iran’s response will be quite severe,” and warned the United States to “keep its distance.” But he also said that Iran now “considers the issue resolved.”
Army Minister Benny Gantz said Sunday that Israel would seek compensation from Iran in response to the attack when the time is right.
“We will build a regional coalition and force a price from Iran in a way and at a time that suits us,” Gantz said.
US President Joe Biden spoke by phone with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and said he would convene a summit of the Group of Seven on Sunday to coordinate a diplomatic response to what he called Iran’s brazen attack.
U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said the United States does not seek conflict with Iran, but will not hesitate to act to protect U.S. forces and support the defense of Israel.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Sunday that the United States “condemns in the strongest terms the Iranian attack on Israel.”
“We are not seeking escalation, but we will continue to support Israel’s defense. As the president has made clear, we will protect American service members.”
Iran ‘sending a message’
“I think this is Iran sending a message that attacks on their own personnel will not be tolerated and there will be consequences, but I don’t think they intend this to be the start of another war.” said retired U.S. Army Colonel Peter Mansour. CBC’s rosemary burton live on sunday.
The UN Security Council was scheduled to meet on Sunday at 4pm ET after Israel condemned the Iranian attack and called for the Revolutionary Guards to be designated as a terrorist organization.
Id Moed, Israel’s ambassador to Canada, said the scope of the attack, the first direct attack on Israel from Iranian territory, was a wake-up call to the international community.
“The first first step would be to designate the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organization,” Moed told CBC. rosemary burton live.
Impact on air travel
Major Middle East airlines including Emirates and Etihad Airways announced some flight cancellations after the overnight salvo, forcing others to reroute.
However, Dubai-based Emirates later announced that it would resume scheduled flights to and from Jordan, Lebanon and Iraq from Sunday afternoon.
Israel and Lebanon announced the closure of their airspace on Saturday night. Israel reopened its airspace on Sunday, according to airport authorities. Jordan, located between Iran and Israel, had air defenses in place to intercept drones and missiles that invaded its territory, two regional security officials said.
Residents of several Jordanian cities said they heard heavy aerial activity.
“We stand with Israel,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said after Iran barraged Israel with drones and missiles.
Canada, the European Union, the United Kingdom, Japan, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Mexico, the Netherlands, Norway and others have condemned the Iranian attack.
Many of these countries are also warning their citizens against traveling to the already tense region, which is entering its seventh month since the start of the Gaza conflict.
