Iran launches dozens of drones and missiles in airborne attack against Israel

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps said it launched dozens of drones and missiles at Israel on Saturday, an attack that may trigger a major escalation between the regional arch-enemies, with the US pledging to back Israel.

Israel’s military said the drones, which Iraqi security sources said were seen flying over the country from Iran, would take hours to reach their targets.

Israeli Channel 12 said missiles Iran had launched were likely to strike sooner but that some missiles and drones had been shot down over Syria or Jordan.

A retired Israeli general, Amos Yadlin, told Channel 12 that the Iranian drones were equipped with 20kg (44 pounds) of explosives each.

US President Joe Biden is being regularly updated by his national security team and is in constant communication with Israeli officials as well as US partners and allies, National Security Council spokeswoman Adrienne Watson said in a statement.

Biden, who on Friday warned Iran against attacking Israel after saying such a scenario appeared imminent, has pledged to stand with Israel against Iran, the White House said.

The Iranian drone attack marks a “severe and dangerous escalation,” Israeli army spokesman Daniel Hagari said.

“We are closely monitoring Iranian killer drones that are en route to Israel sent by Iran. This is a severe and dangerous escalation,” Rear Admiral Hagari said.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has convened his war cabinet at military headquarters in Tel Aviv, his office said.

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UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak condemned the attack as “reckless”, adding that Britain would “continue to stand up for Israel’s security”.

“Alongside our allies, we are urgently working to stabilise the situation and prevent further escalation. No one wants to see more bloodshed,” Sunak said in a statement.

Iran has vowed retaliation for what it called an Israeli strike on its Damascus consulate on April 1 that killed seven Revolutionary Guards officers including two senior commanders. Israel has neither confirmed nor denied responsibility for the attack.

Israel’s military said sirens would sound in any threatened areas and that its defences were poised to deal with them.

Israel, Jordan and Lebanon said they were closing their airspace on Saturday night.

Syria, an ally of Iran, said it was putting its ground-to-air defence systems around the capital and major bases on high alert, army sources there said.

The Gaza war between Israel and Hamas, now in its seventh month, has driven up tensions in the region, spreading to fronts with Lebanon and Syria and drawing long-range fire at Israeli targets from as far away as Yemen and Iraq.

Additional reporting by Agence France-Presse