Iran attacks Israel: Unprecedented assault threatens regional escalation

Iran launched more than 300 drones and missiles toward Israel late Saturday night, April 13, in its first direct attack on the Jewish state. According to IDF Spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, 99 percent of the projectiles fired – 170 explosive UAVs, 30 cruise missiles and 120 ballistic missiles – were shot down by the Israeli Air Force and Israeli allies outside the country’s borders, causing only minor damage to an IAF base in southern Israel.

“This is a very significant strategic achievement,” he said. “The Iranian threat met the aerial and technological superiority of the IDF, combined with a strong fighting coalition, which together intercepted the vast majority of the threats.”

Hagari said no drones or cruise missiles had succeeded in entering Israeli airspace, but a ballistic missile landed in a Bedouin village near Arad in southern Israel, seriously wounding a seven-year-old girl. She was hospitalized in intensive care at Soroka Medical Center.

After more than six months of Operation Swords of Iron, which the IDF launched after the Hamas assault on October 7, the Iranian attack threatened to escalate into a regional war between the two arch-foes, Iran (and its proxies) and Israel (with the backing of its main ally, the United States).

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convened the War Cabinet and the Security Cabinet at defense headquarters in Tel Aviv to consider Israel’s response.  The Security Cabinet empowered Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and Minister-without-Portfolio Benny Gantz to make decisions on taking further action against Iran. Channel 12 cited an unnamed Israeli official as saying there would be a “significant response” to the Iranian attack.

“Citizens of Israel, in recent years, and especially in recent weeks, Israel has been preparing for a direct attack by Iran,” Netanyahu said in a video statement just before the Iranian attack. “Our defensive systems are deployed; we are ready for any scenario, both defensively and offensively. The State of Israel is strong. The IDF is strong. The public is strong.

“We appreciate the US standing alongside Israel, as well as the support of Britain, France and many other countries. We have determined a clear principle: Whoever harms us, we will harm them. We will defend ourselves against any threat and will do so level-headedly and with determination.”

Intercepting the Iranian attack

Sirens began blaring in Israel at about 1:40 a.m. on April 14, sending people across the country – including Jerusalem – to bomb shelters and safe rooms.

In addition, Hezbollah fired dozens of Katyusha rockets and drones at northern Israel from Lebanon. An IDF reservist was seriously wounded in a drone attack on Kibbutz Hanita, while a rocket caused heavy damage to property in Katzrin. Drones were also launched against Israel by Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi group.

Almost all interceptions of the Iranian drones and missiles were made by aircraft, David’s Sling, and the Arrow missile systems, the IDF said. Arrow-2 and Arrow-3 systems were able to accurately intercept the incoming long-range ballistic missiles. Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) congratulated the IDF, saying: “This unequaled degree of performance was achieved thanks to the multilayered defense systems developed by Israel’s defense industries.”

Israel, the US, the UK, Jordan, and France intercepted drones and missiles over Syria, Jordan, Iraq, and Israel, according to foreign reports. US and British warplanes shot down some Israel-bound drones over the Iraq-Syria border area, Channel 12 reported. Jordanian jets also shot down dozens of Iranian drones, some of them headed toward Jerusalem, security sources told Reuters.

Gallant issued a statement on April 14 saying he had completed an operational situation assessment with senior officials in Israel’s defense establishment.“Overnight, the whole world saw the true face of Iran – a terrorist state that attacked the State of Israel from a distance of 1,500 km and in doing so also attempted to employ all of its proxies. On the other hand, the world also saw the power of a coalition, and how Israel, together with the United States and additional partners, stood together and thwarted this attack in a way that is unparalleled,” Gallant said.

However, he cautioned: “The campaign is not over yet – we must remain alert and attentive to the instructions published by the IDF and Home Front Command. We must be prepared for every scenario. Having said this, we have thwarted the most significant wave [of the attack], and we did so successfully.”

Iran’s Foreign Ministry confirmed that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) had conducted a missile and drone attack against “military bases” in Israel.

“Iran, if necessary, will not hesitate to take further defensive measures to safeguard its legitimate interests against any military aggressions and unlawful use of force,” it said, adding that Iran had conducted the attack in retaliation for the Israeli strike on its embassy in Damascus on April 1, in which seven senior officers, including Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps commander Mohammad Reza Zahedi, were killed. Israel had been put on high alert for an Iranian response to the Damascus strike after Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei threatened that it “must be punished and will be.”

Iran’s Mission to the UN said at 1:06 a.m. local time that the attack on Israel “can be deemed concluded.” However, it warned, “should the Israeli regime make another mistake, Iran’s response will be considerably more severe. It is a conflict between Iran and the rogue Israeli regime, from which the US must stay away.”

On the morning of April 13, the IRGC announced that it had seized a Portuguese-flagged cargo ship, which was partially Israeli-owned, near the Strait of Hormuz. Following the incident, Foreign Minister Israel Katz called on the European Union and the free world to designate the IRGC a terrorist organization and impose new sanctions on Iran.

In a 30-minute phone call with Netanyahu, US President Joe Biden said that “Israel demonstrated a remarkable capacity to defend and defeat even unprecedented attacks, sending a clear message to its foes that they cannot effectively threaten the security of Israel.”

Biden cut short a weekend visit to his home state of Delaware and returned to Washington to meet with his national security advisers, including his secretaries of defense and state, in the White House Situation Room, and pledged to stand with Israel. “Our commitment to Israel’s security against threats from Iran and its proxies is ironclad,” Biden posted on X.

Biden said that in the week before the Iranian attack, he had directed the US military to move aircraft and ballistic missile defense destroyers to the region. “Thanks to these deployments and the extraordinary skill of our servicemembers, we helped Israel take down nearly all of the incoming drones and missiles,” he said.

The US president also promised to convene leaders of the G7 to coordinate a “united diplomatic response to Iran’s brazen attack.”

“My team will engage with their counterparts across the region. And we will stay in close touch with Israel’s leaders. And while we have not seen attacks on our forces or facilities today, we will remain vigilant to all threats and will not hesitate to take all necessary action to protect our people,” he said.

According to CNN, Biden told Netanyahu that the US would not take part in any offensive operation against Iran, saying that Israel should consider the success in intercepting the Iranian missiles a “win.”

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said although Washington did not seek a conflict with Iran, it would not hesitate to act to protect US forces and support the defense of Israel.  In a phone call with Gallant, Pentagon Press Secretary Pat Ryder said Austin reiterated “ironclad US support for Israel’s defense in the face of growing threats from Iran and its regional proxies.”

Meanwhile, the United Nations Security Council was set to convene after Israel requested that it condemn Iran’s attack and designate the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps a terrorist organization.  UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres squarely condemned Iran’s attack against Israel, saying he was “deeply alarmed about the very real danger of a devastating region-wide escalation.”

The European Union, Britain, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Mexico, the Netherlands, Norway and others also issued condemnations of Iran’s attack against Israel. British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak denounced Iran’s “reckless” attack. “These strikes risk inflaming tensions and destabilizing the region. Iran has once again demonstrated that it is intent on sowing chaos in its own backyard,” Sunak said in a statement. “The UK will continue to stand up for Israel’s security and that of all our regional partners, including Jordan and Iraq.”

World Jewish Congress President Ronald S. Lauder said Iran’s attack “not only threatens the safety and security of Israeli citizens but also represents a dangerous escalation in the already volatile Middle East region.”

“Iran’s actions, as the primary state sponsor of terrorism, pose a grave threat to global stability,” Lauder said. “This egregious act of aggression undermines efforts for peace and will ignite a tinderbox, unleashing further violence with potentially devastating impacts on countless innocent lives.”

President Isaac Herzog issued a statement on X blessing Israel’s soldiers, the commanders of the IDF and the IAF, as well as the coalition of nations led by the US and its president.  “Bless my sisters and brothers, the people of Israel, for their exceptional show of resilience,” he added. “Together the forces of good will overcome the forces of evil. Am Yisrael Chai!”■