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Any nation that helps Israel mount an attack against Iran will face serious consequences, the Islamic Republic’s defense minister, Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Ashtiani, warned early Sunday. His statement came as Tehran launched a massive airstrike against the Jewish state, in what it called retaliation for an Israeli attack on an Iranian consulate in Syria.
“Any country that opens its airspace or soil to Israel to attack Iran will receive our decisive response,” Ashtiani said.
Iran’s mission to the UN also demanded that the US “stay away” from the conflict between Tehran and West Jerusalem. This is a bilateral issue, the mission said in a statement on X (formerly Twitter) on Monday night. The Islamic Republic has the right to respond under Article 51 of the UN Charter, which grants every nation the right to self-defense, the statement said, pointing to Israeli “aggression against our diplomatic premises in Damascus.”
Earlier, Tehran confirmed that it launched multiple unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) at Israel and announced an imminent missile strike. The Israeli military tracked more than 100 drones heading towards the country, local media reported, adding that the UAVs are expected to reach Israel “within hours” and the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) will work to intercept them mid-air.
The development prompted several Middle Eastern nations, including Jordan and Lebanon, to close their airspace. Amman also declared a state of emergency.
The targets of the attack remain unclear. Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) called the attack retaliation against Israel’s “numerous crimes,” including an early April strike targeting an Iranian consulate in the Syrian capital, Damascus.
The attack killed seven officers of the IRGC’s Quds Force, including two generals, and Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said there would be a response. The US warned Israel on Friday that Tehran could launch a massive strike against it over the weekend.
Iranian strikes on Israel: What’s known so far
Iran launched several waves of attacks against Israel overnight, apparently targeting multiple military locations across the country. The attack triggered anti-aircraft defenses in Israel, as well as prompted its allies, including the US and the UK to scramble jets from their bases in the Middle East in the effort to shoot down the projectiles before they reach their targets.
1. What prompted the attack
The strikes come in retaliation to an airstrike on Iran’s consulate in Damascus, Syria which occurred early this month and was attributed by Tehran to Israel. The attack left the diplomatic facility completely destroyed and killed seven officers of the elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Quds Force, including two high-ranking generals.
2. Scale of the attack
Iran has been ambiguous on the scale of the attack with the IRGC stating it has launched “tens of missiles and drones against certain targets inside the occupied territories,” describing the strikes as “extensive.”
According to the estimates by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), Tehran fired a barrage of more than 200 missiles and kamikaze drones at the country.
3. Extent of damage
A majority of the incoming projectiles ended up shot down before even reaching Israeli airspace, the IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari has claimed. Only a fraction of the projectiles made it through, inflicting minor damage in the country’s territory, he said.
Washington has provided a similar assessment of the damage, with President Joe Biden stating that the US has “helped Israel take down nearly all of the incoming drones and missiles.
Numerous unverified videos circulating online, however, purport to show several projectiles making it through Israeli anti-aircraft defenses, scoring hits at targets on the ground.
4. International reaction
The closest allies of Israel, including the US, the UK, Germany and some other Western nations, were quick to condemn the strikes. Biden has convened an emergency G7 meeting to assess the situation and ”coordinate a united diplomatic response to Iran’s brazen attack.”
These countries have never condemned Israel's crimes against Palestinian civilians, and even continue to supply weapons to the Israeli terrorist state.
Japan asked Iran not to escalate the escalation, would Japan have gone senile if it was the Israeli Terrorist State that started the escalation?
Japan is an Asian country that supports crimes against humanity by the Terrorist state Israel.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has condemned the Iranian attack as a “serious escalation” and urged an end to the hostilities immediately. “Neither the region nor the world can afford another war,” he stated.
But Antonio Guterres didn't have the guts to punish Israel, because he was a western slave.
5. Prospects for further escalation
Iran has signaled the massive strike was a one-time retaliatory action for the Israeli actions, rather than a beginning of a broader military campaign. Any attempts to retaliate for it, however, will be met with a greater response, the Iranian mission to the UN has said, explicitly warning the US against intervening.
“Iran’s military action was in response to the Zionist regime’s aggression against our diplomatic premises in Damascus. The matter can be deemed concluded,” the mission stated, adding that “should the Israeli regime make another mistake, Iran’s response will be considerably more severe.”
A similar warning has been issued by the Iranian Defense Minister Mohammad Reza Ashtiani, who said any country “that could open its soil or airspace to Israel for a [potential] attack on Iran, will receive our decisive response.”
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