Iran launches ballistic missiles at Israel as US vows to defend

Strike follows Israeli forces pushing into southern Lebanon.

The Israeli military on Tuesday said Iran fired more than 100 ballistic missiles directly at the country, an escalation in the battle between the Middle Eastern rivals fought mainly so far through proxies.

A spokesman for the Israel Defence Forces said many of the missiles had been intercepted but that there were several hits in the south and central parts of the country.

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Iranian state TV said the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps launched “tens of ballistic missiles” at Israel in retaliation for the killing of Hamas and Hezbollah leaders and an Iranian general.

It targeted “important security and military sites” and threatened “more devastating attacks” if Israel responded.

The launch comes after Israeli forces moved into southern Lebanon as part of a campaign against Tehran-backed Hezbollah. The US earlier in the day warned of an imminent attack by Iran.

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Israel’s confrontation with Iran through Hezbollah escalated on Friday after the assassination of the group’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah, in a massive airstrike in southern Beirut. Iran has vowed to strike Israel in retaliation, as well as for the suspected Israeli killing in July of Hamas’ political leader while in Tehran, although its response has so far been restrained.

“We are on the edge of an all-out war between at least Israel and Hezbollah, which could be devastating to Lebanon and quite painful for Israel,” said Bruce Riedel, a former senior US intelligence officer and a nonresident senior fellow at Brookings’ Center for Middle East Policy. “If they bring in the Iranians as well, the whole region is going to be at risk.”

This is Iran’s second direct attack on Israel in almost six months. The first in April did minimal damage, partly because it was telegraphed in advance and involved slower-moving missiles and drones. That helped the Israeli air force shoot down the vast majority of projectiles with help from the US, UK, France and Jordan. Under pressure from the US, Israel’s response was limited to a strike on an Iranian airbase.

Read: Israel grapples with new phase in its multi-front war with Iran

The strike is also the latest escalation of a wider conflict that began when Hamas, also supported by Iran, attacked the Jewish state almost a year ago. Israel has rebuffed calls for a cease-fire from the US and others and said last month it’s switching the focus of military operations away from its Gaza Strip campaign toward Lebanon.

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The White House said President Joe Biden convened a meeting earlier Tuesday with Vice President Kamala Harris and their national security team, and that they’re monitoring the Iranian attack from the White House Situation Room. National Security Council spokesman Sean Savett said on X that the president directed the US military to aid Israel’s defence and shoot down any missiles targeting the country.

The US has beefed up its military posture in the Middle East in recent days, the Pentagon said, and announced Monday it would send a few thousand additional troops to the region, including additional fighter jet squadrons.

US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin told his Israeli counterpart Yoav Gallant on Tuesday that the US is “well-postured” to defend allies, partners and US troops from Iranian threats, and the two discussed the “severe consequences” for a direct strike on Israel, according to a readout of the call.

Iran has a “substantial” stockpile of ballistic and cruise missiles capable of striking targets as far as 2 000 kilometres from its borders, the US Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA) said in April in its annual assessment of global threats. It added that last year Tehran “focused on fielding a new generation of long-range systems to counter Israel.”

Since early 2023, the DIA said, Tehran has unveiled three new missiles able to strike Israel from the western part of Iran, including a land-attack cruise missile and a ballistic missile it claims is hypersonic.

Israeli troops overnight began what Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government said were “targeted ground raids” in Lebanon alongside airstrikes in Beirut’s southern suburbs, and the army later reported “intense fighting”. Hezbollah fired a salvo of rockets in response, and millions of Israelis have moved to shelters, the Israel Defence Forces had said.

© 2024 Bloomberg L.P.

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