Israel’s Netanyahu vows victory after Iran strikes, fears of wider conflict grow

“Our response will be much larger than tonight’s military action if Israel retaliates against Iran,” armed forces chief of staff Major General Mohammad Bagheri told state TV, adding that Tehran warned the US that any backing of Israeli retaliation would result in U.S. bases being targeted.

The commander of the elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Hossein Salami, also warned Tehran would retaliate against any Israeli attack on its interests, officials or citizens.

Israel reported modest damage and reopened its airspace after Iran launched an unprecedented direct attack on Israeli territory, while the US said it would discuss a diplomatic response with major powers today.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed 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.

“We intercepted, we repelled, together we shall win,” Netanyahu posted on X.

Tehran’s attacks late on Saturday, launched after 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.

Iran had relied on its proxies across the region to attack Israeli and US targets in a show of support for the Palestinian militant group Hamas in the Gaza war with Israel, which shows no sign of easing despite numerous mediation efforts.

The Israeli military said the armed forces had shot down more than 99pc of the Iranian drones and missiles and were discussing follow-up options.

Israel’s Channel 12 TV cited an unnamed Israeli official as saying there would be a “significant response” to the attack.

The war in Gaza, which Israel invaded after an 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.

US President Joe Biden said he would convene a meeting of the Group of Seven advanced democracies today “to co-ordinate a united diplomatic response to Iran’s brazen attack”.

The language indicated that the Biden administration does not want Iran’s assault to spiral into a broader military conflict.

Mr Biden said US forces helped Israel down “nearly all” the drones and missiles and pledged to convene allies to develop a unified response.

Mr Biden, who had cut short a weekend stay at his Delaware beach house to meet with his national security team at the White House on Saturday afternoon, spoke to Mr Netanyahu later in the day.

“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,” Mr Biden said.

In a statement today, secretary of state Antony Blinken said the US does “not seek escalation”, and would hold talks with its allies in the coming days.

The US, along with its allies, has sent direct messages to Tehran to warn against further escalating the conflict.

US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said America did not seek conflict with Iran but would not hesitate to act to protect U.S. forces and support defence of Israel.

The UN Security Council is set to meet at 8pm this evening after Israel requested it condemn Iran’s attack and designate the Revolutionary Guards a terrorist organisation.

‘Push toward escalation’

Iran’s Fars news agency quoted a source as saying Tehran was closely watching Jordan, which might become the next target in case of any moves in support of Israel.

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 this morning it had fired rockets at an Israeli base.

Drones were also reportedly launched against Israel by Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi group, which has attacked shipping lanes in and around the Red Sea to show solidarity with Hamas, British maritime security company Ambrey said in a statement.

Those clashes now threaten to morph into a direct open conflict pitting Iran and its regional allies against Israel and its main supporter, the US. Regional power Egypt urged “utmost restraint”.

Jordan, which lies between Iran and Israel, had readied air defences to intercept any drone or missile that violated its territory, according to regional security sources.

Jordan said on Sunday it intercepted flying objects that entered its airspace on Saturday night.

Residents in several Jordanian cities said they heard heavy aerial activity.

Syria, an ally of Iran, said it was putting its ground-to-air defence systems around the capital and major bases on high alert, army sources there said.

Booms and air raid sirens sounded across Israel early on Sunday after Iran launched hundreds of drones, ballistic missiles and cruise missiles in an unprecedented revenge mission that pushed the Middle East closer to a regionwide war. A military spokesman said the launches numbered more than 300 but 99pc of them were intercepted.

Calling the outcome “a very significant strategic success,” Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said Iran fired 170 drones, more than 30 cruise missiles and more than 120 ballistic missiles. Of those, several ballistic missiles reached Israeli territory, causing minor damage to an air base.

Rescuers said a seven-year-old girl in a Bedouin Arab town was seriously wounded in southern Israel, apparently in a missile strike, though they said police were still investigating the circumstances of her injuries.

The Iranian attack, less than two weeks after a suspected Israeli strike in Syria that killed two Iranian generals in an Iranian consular building, marks the first time Iran has launched a direct military assault on Israel, despite decades of enmity dating back to the country’s 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Israeli military says Iran has launched drones at Israel

Condemnation from the United Nations chief and others was swift, with France saying Iran “is risking a potential military escalation,” Britain calling the attack “reckless” and Germany saying Iran and its proxies “must stop it immediately”.

Hagari said the vast majority of the intercepts came outside Israel’s borders, including 10 cruise missiles that were intercepted by warplanes.

“A wide-scale attack by Iran is a major escalation,” he said. Asked whether Israel would respond, Hagari said only that the army “does and will do whatever is required to protect the security of the state of Israel.” He said the incident was not over, and dozens of Israeli warplanes remained in the skies.

Israel’s military said its Arrow system, which shoots down ballistic missiles outside the atmosphere, handled most interceptions and noted that “strategic partners” were involved.

“At my direction, to support the defence of Israel, the US military moved aircraft and ballistic missile defence destroyers to the region over the course of the past week,” Biden said in a statement. “Thanks to these deployments and the extraordinary skill of our service members, we helped Israel take down nearly all of the incoming drones and missiles.”

Harris labels attacks ‘reckless’

In a statement, Taoiseach Simon Harris called the attacks by Iran as “reckless” and said any escalation would cause devastation.

“I strongly condemn Iran’s reckless and large-scale attack on Israel,” Mr Harris said.

“I urge all sides to show restraint now and to avoid any escalation in military action and the devastation that would cause,” he added in a statement.

Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs Micheál Martin also condemned the attacks and said they were a “flagrant threat to international peace”.

“My thoughts are with the Israeli people at this time. The scale and intensity of the attack represents a flagrant threat to international peace and security and is utterly unacceptable,” the Tánaiste said.

“It does nothing to help the cause of the Palestinian people or bring us closer to an end to the suffering in Gaza,” he added.

Minister Martin said Ireland would be working with EU partners in response to the attack and urged all sides to restore stability.

“There is now an urgent need to regional de-escalation. Further escalation is in nobody’s interest. I urge all actors to intensify efforts to restore stability,” the Tánaiste said.

The Taoiseach was among other EU leaders who condemned the attack including President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen and French president Emmanuel Macron.

“I strongly condemn Iran‘s blatant and unjustifiable attack on Israel. And I call on Iran and its proxies to immediately cease these attacks,” Ms von der Leyen said

“All actors must now refrain from further escalation and work to restore stability in the region,” she added.

Mr Macron said France was “working on de-escalation with its partners” as his called for restraint.

“I condemn in the strongest terms the unprecedented attack launched by Iran against Israel, which threatens to destabilize the region,” the French president said.

“I express my solidarity with the Israeli people and France’s attachment to the security of Israel, our partners and regional stability.

“France is working on de-escalation with its partners and calls for restraint,” he said in his statement.

US response

US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said in a separate statement that US forces “intercepted dozens of missiles and UAVs en route to Israel, launched from Iran, Iraq, Syria and Yemen.”

Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke early Sunday, Israeli time. Biden said in his statement that he reaffirmed “America’s ironclad commitment” to Israel’s security — a departure from his growing criticism of Israel’s conduct in its war on Hamas in Gaza.

Iran had vowed revenge since the April 1 airstrike in Syria, which Tehran accused Israel of being responsible for. Israel hasn’t commented on it.

Israel and Iran have been on a collision course throughout Israel’s six-month war against Hamas militants in Gaza. The war erupted after Hamas and Islamic Jihad, two militant groups backed by Iran, carried out a devastating cross-border attack on Oct. 7 that killed 1,200 people in Israel and kidnapped 250 others. An Israeli offensive in Gaza has caused widespread devastation and killed over 33,000 people, according to local health officials.

Almost immediately after the war erupted, Hezbollah, an Iranian-backed militant group in Lebanon, began attacking Israel’s northern border. The two sides have been involved in daily exchanges of fire, while Iranian-backed groups in Iraq, Syria and Yemen have launched rockets and missiles toward Israel.