Israel under fire as Iran launches ‘extensive drone strikes’

Israel’s Iron Dome missile system intercepts drone attack by Iran. Photograph: X.com

Iran has launched “extensive drone strikes” against Israel, the Islamic Republic’s first ever direct attack on the Jewish state, moving years of shadow war into the open and putting world capitals on high alert for major escalation as the six-month-old war in Gaza threatens to drag the Middle East into a regional conflagration.

The launch of what are believed to be powerful Iranian-manufactured Shahed drones was confirmed by both the Israeli military and what Iran’s state-linked Press TV described as military sources at about 11pm local time on Saturday. The IDF said more than 100 drones had been launched.

The attack is expected to unfold over a number of hours, with the first wave reaching Israeli airspace at around 02.00 local time (00.00 BST).

In a statement an hour later, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corp said it had also launched missiles at “specific targets” in Israel as part of what it deemed “Operation True Promise”.

“Dozens of drones were spotted flying from Iran in the direction of Israel over Iraqi airspace,” two Iraqi security sources told Reuters, while Israel’s Channel 12 reported at midnight local time that the first Israeli interceptions of the Iranian drones had begun over eastern Syria and Jordan. Yemen’s Houthi militia also said that it had joined the attack against Israel.

The roar of Israeli air force jets could be heard across the country overnight, and the country’s sophisticated Iron Dome air defence system is expected to be able to intercept relatively slow-moving drones, but can be overwhelmed by large volumes of incoming fire.

There has been nearly two weeks of speculation about when, where and how Tehran or its proxy forces in Syria, Iraq and Yemen would respond to the 1 April strike on an Iranian diplomatic building in the Syrian capital of Damascus which killed Gen Mohammad Reza Zahedi, a senior figure in Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards, and eight other officers.

Israeli officials almost never claim responsibility for attacks carried out on foreign soil, but Tehran has blamed Israel for the strike.

Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has repeatedly promised to retaliate against Israel over the attack, while Israeli officials have warned several times that the country’s forces would strike Iran directly if it launched a retaliatory attack from its territory, raising fears over what is now a rapidly escalating tit-for-tat.

On Saturday Israel’s armed forces were on full alert, and an announcement was made that schools will be closed for the next two days. Israel airspace, Iraqi, Jordanian and Iranian airspace have been closed, and neighbouring Jordan has declared a state of emergency.

Israel has attacked scores of Iranian-linked targets in Syria during the 14-year-old civil war with the apparent intent of disrupting arms transfers and other cooperation with Lebanon’s Hezbollah, which is backed by Iran.

Since the war in Gaza began six months ago, there have been near-daily exchanges of fire between Israeli forces and Hezbollah along the Israel-Lebanon border that have threatened to escalate into full-blown conflict.

A direct attack by Iran on Israel, however, was not believed to be on the cards: Tehran’s leaders have repeatedly made clear that they are not seeking a war with Israel, which could also draw in the US.

President Joe Biden cut short a weekend stay at his Delaware beach house and returned to the White House to meet his national security team and monitor the situation shortly before the attack was announced.

The US leader, who has reiterated Washington’s “iron-clad” commitment to the security of Israel, its most important Middle Eastern ally, is being regularly updated and is in constant communication with Israeli officials as well as US partners and allies, National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson said in a statement late on Saturday.