India Tomorrow
NEW DELHI—Iran on Saturday night launched a major attack on Israel by using explosive-laden drones and firing waves of cruise missiles, with Israeli army admitting damage to some of its military bases.
Iran claimed that 50 percent of the fired missiles hit the designated targets.
Iran describes Israel as “occupied Palestine territories”.
Iran also warned the US not to support Israel against Iran’s attack. Iran said the US will have to face the consequences if it comes in defence of Israel.
Israel has so far not retaliated. Iran’s defence ministry has warned that any that helps Israel in a possible attack on Iran would also be attacked.
“(If you) open your airspace, we will deal decisively,” Iranian Defence Minister Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Ashtiani warned.
“Any nation facilitating any Israeli aggression against Iran by permitting access to their airspace or territory will face Tehran’s decisive response. Whatever country that opens its soil or airspace to Israel for a [potential] attack on Iran, will receive our decisive response,” Iran’s defence minister said on social media platform X in Hebrew.
Tehran Times reported that IRCG has particularly threatened Jordan that it will be targeted if it collaborates with Israel.
Meanwhile, the US, UK and France have declared their support to Israel.
The Iranian attack comes in the wake of Israel’s attack on Iran’s consulate in Damascus on April 1 in which seven of Iranian generals were martyred, besides several other embassy officials having been killed. Iran had vowed revenge attacks, saying Israel will be punished for its attack on its consulate in Syria.
Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRCG) clarified that it attacked Israeli positions due to failure of the United Nations to admonish Israel for its attack on Iran’s consulate.
In a statement, IRCG said: “After more than 10 days of silence and negligence by international organizations, especially the United Nations Security Council, in condemning the aggression and crimes of the Zionist regime in the attack on the Iranian consulate in Damascus as part of our country’s soil and the martyrdom of 7 legal military advisors of the country, and the lack of punishment for the criminal regime under Article 7 of the UN Charter, the IRGC in response to these crimes and in realization of previous warnings and in securing Iran’s rights and in order to punish the aggressors, using its strategic intelligence, missile, and drone capabilities, successfully targeted important military targets of the Zionist terrorist army in occupied territories and destroyed them.”
Tehran Times reported that Shahed-136 drones are among the Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) launched at Israeli positions.
“In response to various crimes of the Zionist regime, including the attack on the Iranian consulate section in Damascus and the martyrdom of some our country’s military commanders and advisors in Syria, the IRCG’s Air Force targeted specific objectives inside the occupied territories by hitting them with dozens of missiles and drones,” a statement issued by the Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRCG) said.
While most of the media houses said that Iran attacked Israel with 200 drones, ABC news claimed that Iran launched 400-500 drones to attack the Zionist regime.
The direct Iranian attack comes after Hezbollah lauched rocket attacks a day ago on Israeli territories and Golan Heights.
News reports say that Iran also launched cyber-attack on Israel, plunging vast areas of Israel, including Tel Aviv, into darkness.
Ansarullah movement in Yemen and Lebanese groups have also begun simultaneous drone attacks on Israel.
