WASHINGTON-
Iran launched waves of attack drones toward Israel on Saturday in retaliation for a deadly Israeli airstrike this month, in what could be the start of broader retaliation on several fronts.
A military response from Israel is expected, even if its degree of robustness is not yet established. Air raid sirens were reported in southern Israel early Sunday. Attacks from Iranian soil into Israel proper would represent a major escalation of the regional conflict amid the war between Israel and Hamas that has raged for six months in Gaza.
President Biden cut short his weekend in Delaware and rushed back to the White House, where he was joined by a team of national security advisers. They were bracing for a violent response from Iran after Israeli airstrikes on April 1 killed seven senior Iranian officials at an Iranian diplomatic mission in Syria.
Biden was also joined by Secretaries of State and Defense Lloyd J. Austin III and Antony J. Blinken amid reports that U.S. forces deployed in the Middle East were helping Israel locate and intercept incoming rockets.
Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, a spokesman for the Israel Defense Forces, reported the launch of Iranian drones and said Israel was already on high security alert, canceling schools and large public gatherings until at further notice. He spoke in a televised address.
Journalists in Jerusalem reported hearing aerial explosions that could be weapons systems firing rockets, while warning sirens blared into the early hours before dawn. The Israeli military has ordered residents of the Golan Heights, the disputed territory close to Israel’s border with Syria, to “remain in protective spaces.”
“The United States will stand with the Israeli people and support their defense against these Iranian threats,” White House national security spokeswoman Adrienne Watson said after confirming the Iranian attack, echoing Biden as recently as Friday.
Iran, through its official IRNA news agency, said the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps had fired “dozens of drones and missiles towards the positions of the Zionist regime in the occupied Palestinian territories.” Iran considers all of Israel to be occupied territory, so the statement did not specify what the targets would be.
In Israel, where it was already Sunday, local media reported that Iran was pursuing drones – which Israel would in theory be able to largely intercept – with cruise missiles or other potentially more bombs. murderers.
Iran’s proxy in Lebanon, the militant organization Hezbollah, deployed across Lebanon’s southern border with Israel, could also be expected to attack with missiles as part of a wider deployment of the type of daily cross-border blockades that both sides carry out.
Iran said the attack on its facilities in Damascus violated international law governing diplomatic missions. US officials have cast doubt on the status of the building, alleging that it was used to plan military actions against Israel.
Yet US officials say direct military engagement between Israel and Iran would be a game-changer.
“We are in completely uncharted territory,” Mairav Zonszein, a Middle East analyst at the International Crisis Group, said on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.
“Iran’s attack on Israel would be a prelude to a broader regional war,” Mark Esper, former defense secretary in the Trump administration, said on CNN.
Biden administration officials, along with their counterparts in several Arab and European countries, have urged Iran in recent days to exercise restraint, even as Tehran’s fiery rhetoric intensified and preparations for an attack was clearly underway.
Several countries neighboring Israel, such as Jordan, closed their airspace on Saturday, while others, including the Netherlands, strengthened official warnings against travel to Israel.
U.S. officials also urged Israel to calibrate any response commensurate with Iran’s action.
But a broader conflict, in a region already reeling from Israel’s devastating war in Gaza, will further thwart Washington’s diplomatic efforts to ease tensions and free hostages held by the Hamas militant group, including several citizens. Americans.
It could also undermine war-weary voters’ support for Biden with less than seven months until the U.S. presidential election.
The Middle East has been plunged into crisis since Hamas in Gaza attacked Israelis in southern Israel on October 7, killing around 1,200 people and taking more than 200 hostage. That triggered Israeli airstrikes and ground raids that killed more than 33,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to the Hamas-controlled Gaza Health Ministry.
Earlier Saturday, Iranian Revolutionary Guard commandos seized an Israel-linked container ship near the Strait of Hormuz. Photos showed members of the paramilitary unit rappelling onto the bridge from helicopters.
The Islamic Republic of Iran’s official news agency said a Guards Corps naval unit had seized the MSC Aries, a Portuguese-flagged cargo ship associated with Zodiac Maritime Shipping Co and Israeli billionaire Eyal Ofer. The agency said the commandos were directing the ship toward Iranian waters. MSC said 25 crew members were on board the ship.
“We are working closely with the relevant authorities to ensure their well-being and the safe return of the vessel,” the company said in a statement.