Iran conducted an unprecedented large-scale drone and missile attack on Israel on Saturday night in response to a suspected Israeli strike on an Iranian diplomatic complex in Syria.
This action has brought the long-standing shadow war between the two sides into the open and heightened the possibility of a full-blown regional conflict.
During the immense aerial attack overnight, more than 300 projectiles, including approximately 170 drones and over 120 ballistic missiles, were launched towards Israel. Israel’s military reported that “99%” of them were intercepted by its aerial defense systems and its “partners.”
These reprisals signify the first instance of the Islamic Republic directly assaulting Israel from its soil, marking a perilous new development in the rapidly escalating Middle East conflict.
During a phone conversation with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday night, US President Joe Biden emphasized that the US would not engage in any offensive actions against Iran. The senior White House official informed CNN that Biden reaffirmed “America’s ironclad commitment to the security of Israel.”
Biden also encouraged Netanyahu to view the events of Saturday night as a success, as Iran’s attacks were mostly ineffective. He highlighted Israel’s “remarkable capacity to defend against and overcome even unprecedented attacks.”
The US assessment indicated that nearly all of the drones and missiles launched by Iran, including over 100 ballistic missiles, were successfully intercepted. According to an administration official, no cruise missile reached its target, and no significant damage was inflicted.
Israel’s emergency service reported no direct injuries from the Iranian strikes, although it mentioned a 7-year-old girl who was severely injured by shrapnel from Israel’s interceptor missile.
However, Iran 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.
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