Israel assured that it has intercepted 99% of more than 300 drones and missiles launched by Iran along with its allies. international

Israel woke up this Sunday with a feeling of euphoria after it intercepted 99% of more than 300 drones and cruise and ballistic missiles launched by Iran since Saturday night, with the help of the United States, the United Kingdom and neighboring Jordan. An unprecedented attack that pushed the Middle East into uncharted territory. It was their declared retaliation for the Israeli assassination of seven of its military commanders in a bombing against a consular building in Damascus (Syria) two weeks earlier, and the first attack from its territory against the Jewish state after years of covert war. Israeli military spokesman Daniel Hagari said earlier in the day that its allies in Lebanon, Yemen and Iraq also launched projectiles. Iran concluded this and Israel reopened its airspace – which it had closed before midnight – and the fighter-bombers that had shot down dozens of missiles outside Israeli territory returned to base. Have been.

The attack was announced, it took hours for the drones to arrive and GPS signals were altered to prevent guidance of the projectiles – causing no deaths (one girl was seriously injured) and hardly any material damage. . Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu boasted about this in a short message with the text: “We stop, we stop, together we will win.” At a press conference in Tehran this afternoon, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian confirmed that, as expected, they had warned their neighbors 72 hours before the retaliatory strike.

Israeli military spokesperson has indicated that no drone has entered Israeli territory. Just a handful of missiles. He stressed that despite the previous declaration and no deaths, Iran was not retaliated against because it launched 110 ballistic missiles, which represents an “aggravation factor” that is “much more significant” than the achievement. “Tries to cause harm. At approximately 2 a.m. local time (1 a.m. Spanish Peninsular time), projectiles were sighted in Jerusalem and other parts of the country, anti-aircraft alarms sounded, and explosions were heard, as would typically be caused by anti-missile shield interception. Are.

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi also credited his country with victory in the attack in a message addressed to the nation this morning and broadcast by official media. “Iran has written a new page in history” by inflicting harm on the Zionist enemy, which “threatens the stability of the region,” he said, before citing his country’s action as an inherent right of “legitimate defense.” .” The Iranian president has also accused Washington of “preventing the UN Security Council from fulfilling its duty” by condemning Israel for the attack on its diplomatic headquarters in Damascus.

In an interview with the official agency IRNA, Major General Mohammad Bagheri, chief of the Iranian General Staff, underlined that Tehran had “closed the case” and threatened “much more serious” action if Israel “makes another mistake”. Is. Bagheri has justified the retaliation by saying that Israel crossed several “red lines” by bombing Damascus and that his country “cannot tolerate this in any way.” The Chief of Staff has argued that they have a “capability to launch missiles and drones” 10 times greater than theirs and that they tried to “carry out” the attack in such a way that the population and economic centers would be affected. Do not be affected.” And it has warned the United States through the Swiss Embassy in Tehran that if it joins the response, its bases and personnel in the region “will not be safe.”

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All eyes are now on the anticipated retaliation from Netanyahu, who has already made it clear that he would take direct action against Iran if its territory was attacked, and the role of the United States in involving it in that conflict. He will be dragged for something he did not do. want. Israel’s war cabinet is scheduled to meet this afternoon to discuss the response. Iran has closed all its airfields to air traffic as of Monday, including Tehran’s Imam Khomeini International Airport.

The attack has served as glue between US President Joe Biden and Netanyahu at a time when their differences over the management of the war in Gaza were wider and more public. They have spoken by phone and Biden told Netanyahu that Israel – his great ally in the Middle East – has demonstrated “its remarkable ability to defend itself and even defend itself” by demonstrating “its Sent an important message to the enemies that they cannot effectively threaten their security”. Defeat unprecedented attacks.” He also announced he would convene the rest of the G-7 leaders “to coordinate a joint diplomatic response” to the attack, which comes amid the region’s biggest crisis in half a century: six months of bloody conflict. The war in Gaza followed and increasingly violent clashes between Israel and the Lebanese militias of Tehran’s ally Hezbollah.

However, according to American media axiosAn unnamed senior White House official was quoted as saying that Biden told the Israeli Prime Minister in that call that he would not support Israel in any retaliatory strike against Iran. “He has won. Stay with it,” Biden told Netanyahu about the success of the interception, according to that source. Neighboring Jordan, a Washington ally that has had diplomatic ties with Israel for three decades, has stopped dozens of drones as they entered its airspace.

In Iran, this Sunday, a working day, there is an atmosphere of normality in the country, explains Professor Rafael Morillo of Allameh Tabatabai University from Tehran. “Almost all my students have come to class. The Iranian response was more or less as everyone expected. Now we have to see what the Israelis will do,” says the professor.

In addition to reopening its airspace, which it had closed before midnight, Israel protected areas for residents in places such as Nevatim (with the airport one of the targets), Dimona (where the airport is) The order to stay near has also been lifted. nuclear power plants where nuclear weapons are projected to be developed) or Eilat, at the southern tip of the country, against which the Houthis have launched drones from Yemen in past months.

The measures set out by the Israeli military late Saturday remain in place: amending instructions to the population, canceling educational activities throughout the country and limiting meetings in green zones to 1,000 people. After some time, Netanyahu appeared in front of the country. “Our defensive systems are deployed. We are prepared for any situation, both defensive and offensive. The State of Israel is strong. His army is strong. “Its population is strong,” he said shortly before the drone strike was announced. “We have set a clear principle: whoever harms us, we will harm. “We will defend ourselves against any threat, and we will do so with common sense and determination,” he said.

measured action

Calls for deterrence in recent days, and Biden’s resounding “don’t (do it)” warning to Tehran on Friday, did not stop the attack. The day began with Iran taking measured action without attacking Israeli territory or causing harm to anyone. The Revolutionary Guard boarded a ship with 25 crew members in the Strait of Hormuz, one of whose owners is an Israeli businessman.

However, this was a much weaker blow than the provocative attack by Israel (against senior military commanders and a consular building in another country). Tehran was signaling that it did not want war, but it did not want to let the attack go all out. This will make him appear weak or scared, which will put him in front of many bad choices. The chosen one is an unprecedented direct attack, with unexpected and predictable consequences: blatant Israeli retaliation on Iranian territory, with ramifications beyond that in other areas of the region where it has allies.

In fact, Israel has so far managed its confrontation with Tehran mainly through assassinations of nuclear scientists, cyber attacks or bombings against its forces or allies in other countries such as Syria or Lebanon. And Iran shied away from direct conflict to act through its allies, such as Hezbollah in Lebanon, other militias in Iraq and Syria, the Houthis in Yemen and – though with less strong ties – Hamas, the Islamist group that has Had started. 7 October.

After October 7, which was the deadliest day in its 75-year history, Israel has shown signs of willingness to change the “security equation” (as it commonly calls it) in the Middle East. It was already stepping on the accelerator against Hezbollah, on the verge of starting a full-scale war, when it began bombing Damascus two weeks ago, significantly increasing the risk of conflict. After Saturday’s attack, it is unknown where he considers he has “restored his immunity” and where he wants to take the “security equation”.

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