Sirens and blasts sound across Israel after Iran launches drone attack

[Pelican Press 0]

Sirens and blasts sound across ******* after Iran launches drone *******

Explosions are seen in the skies of the capital, following the ******* from Iran in Tel Aviv, ******* on April 14, 2024. 

Mostafa Alkharouf | Anadolu | Getty Images

Iran launched a swarm of explosive drones and fired missiles at ******* late on Saturday in its first-ever direct ******* on ******** territory, risking a major escalation as the ******* States pledged “ironclad” backing for *******.

Sirens wailed and Reuters journalists in ******* said they heard distant heavy thuds and bangs from what local media called aerial interceptions of explosive drones. The ambulance service said there was no immediate word of casualties.

*******’s military said more than 100 drones were launched from Iran, with security sources in Iraq and Jordan reporting dozens seen flying overhead and U.S. officials saying the U.S. military had shot some down.

*******’s Channel 12 TV cited an unnamed ******** official as saying there would be a “significant response” to the *******.

Iran’s state news agency cited a source saying its military had also launched a wave of ballistic missiles. *******’s military also said missiles were fired, but there was no immediate report of these striking in *******.

Iran has vowed retaliation for what it called an ******** strike on its Damascus consulate on April 1 that ******* seven Guards officers including two senior commanders and said its strike was a punishment for “******** *******”. ******* has neither confirmed nor denied responsibility for the consulate *******.

“Should the ******** regime make another mistake, Iran’s response will be considerably more severe,” the Iranian mission to the ******* Nations said, warning the U.S. to “stay away”. However, it also said Iran now “deemed the matter concluded”.

U.S. President Joe Biden, who on Friday had warned Iran against an *******, cut short a visit to his home state of Delaware to meet national security advisers in the White House Situation Room, an official said. He pledged to stand with *******.

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

British maritime security company Ambrey said in a statement that drones were also reportedly launched against ******* by Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi group.

Those clashes now threaten to morph into a direct open conflict pitting Iran and its regional allies against ******* and its main supporter the ******* States, with regional power Egypt urging “utmost restraint”.

U.S. and British warplanes were involved in ********* down some *******-bound drones over the Iraq-Syria border area, Channel 12 reported. Three U.S. officials said the U.S. military had shot down drone aircraft without saying how many.

Escalation

“This is a severe and dangerous escalation. Our defensive and offensive capabilities are at the highest level of readiness ahead of this large-scale ******* from Iran,” said *******’s military spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari.

******** Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whose official jet took off shortly after the ******* began, convened the war cabinet at a military headquarters in Tel Aviv, his office said.

*******’s military said sirens would sound in any threatened areas and that its defenses were poised to deal with the drones, which it said were “explosive.”

“We are used to having around 20 seconds to get to shelters when missiles come in. Here, the warning comes hours ahead of time. It naturally raises the anxiety level among the ******** public,” said Nir Dvori, a Channel 12 TV correspondent on social media.

Explosions are seen in the skies of the capital, following the ******* from Iran in Tel Aviv, ******* on April 14, 2024. 

Mostafa Alkharouf | Anadolu | Getty Images

*******’s military told residents of the ********-occupied Golan Heights to stay close to ***** shelters, putting the area on standby for possible impact from drone strikes.

******* and Lebanon said they were closing their airspace on Saturday night. Jordan, which ***** between Iran and *******, had readied air defenses to intercept any drone or missile that violated its territory, two regional security sources said.

Residents in several Jordanian cities said they heard heavy aerial activity.

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

Condemnation

The ********* Union, Britain, France, Mexico, Czechia, Denmark, Norway and the Netherlands all condemned Iran’s *******.

******* has been bracing for an Iranian response to the Damascus consulate strike since last week, when Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said ******* “must be punished and shall be” for an operation he called equivalent to one on Iranian soil.

Biden said on Friday that his only message to Iran was “Don’t”, but added that “we are devoted to the defense of *******.”

Iran’s main ally in the region, the Lebanese Shi’ite group Hezbollah has been exchanging ***** with ******* since the Gaza war began on Oct. 7, said early on Sunday it had fired rockets at an ******** base.

Earlier on Saturday, Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency reported that a Guards helicopter had boarded and taken into Iranian waters the Portuguese-flagged MSC Aries.

MSC, which operates the Aries, confirmed Iran had seized the ship and said it was working “with the relevant authorities” for its safe return and the wellbeing of its 25 crew.

MSC leases the Aries from Gortal Shipping, an affiliate of Zodiac Maritime, Zodiac said in a statement, adding that MSC is responsible for all the vessel’s activities. Zodiac is partly owned by ******** businessman Eyal Ofer.

******** Foreign Minister ******* Katz accused Iran of piracy.

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