TEHRAN, IRAN – Iran has retaliated to an attack by launching a fleet of drones and missiles targeted towards Israel, marking the first direct retaliation between the two nations in their prolonged shadow rivalry.
An uninterrupted series of aerial attacks targeted several military sites in Israel, initiated by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and its proxies from Yemen, Syria, and Iraq, according to U.S. President Joe Biden. Refusing to stay silent after the April 1 attack on the Iranian consulate in Syria that killed seven IRGC officers, Iran accused Israel of executing that fatal assault.
Most of the offensive, compromising several hundreds of cruise missiles and drones, was successfully intercepted outside Israeli borders by Israel and its allied nations. Biden asserted that the U.S. played a significant role in preventing the “unprecedented air attack.”
An Israeli military base incurred minor infrastructural damages due to a few Iranian missiles that breached the defense line, stated Israel Defense Forces spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari. However, no fatal casualties were reported throughout the attack. Hagari reaffirmed the Israeli military’s dedication to their defense activity and their commitment to the safeguarding of Israeli civilians.
An escalated nationwide alert spread across Israel, with sirens and loud explosions being heard and air defense systems visibly active. Acknowledging the severity of the Iranian assault, Israel held an emergency cabinet meeting, at the end of which they decided to close their airspace.
In an emergency response, U.S. forces managed to shoot down several drones with ambiguity over the exact figures and locations. Further foreign assistance was sought from the UK Ministry of Defense, which had dispatched RAF jets in Iraq and Syria to intercept any airborne attacks within the range of their operations.
Renewing its commitment to Israeli defense, Joe Biden communicated with Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to reiterate “America’s ironclad commitment to the security of Israel” and agreed to coordinate an international diplomatic response against Iran.
The latest retaliation represents Iran’s response against “repeated crimes by the Zionist regime’s [Israel]”, particularly blaming them for the Damascus embassy attack, as stated by the illustrious IRGC.
In concurrence, various world leaders expressed their strong condemnation of Iran’s attack and called for maximum restraint. UN Secretary-General António Guterres appealed for an immediate cessation of hostilities, considering the region’s incapacity to afford another war. An emergency meeting of the UN Security Council was scheduled to address the Iranian attack on Israel, as per the president of the council.