Protesters wave the flag of Iran and a Palestinian flag as they gather in Palestine Square in Tehran on April 14, 2024, after Iran launched a drone and missile attack on Israel.
Atta Kenare | Afp | Getty Images
Iran launched attacks on Israel on Saturday, US officials said, escalating long-standing tensions between the two nations that have the potential to spark a regional war.
“Iran has begun an airstrike against Israel,” National Security Council spokeswoman Adrienne Watson said Saturday. “The United States will stand with the people of Israel and support their defense against these threats from Iran.”
Israel Defense Forces spokesman Daniel Hagari said Saturday that Israel would work “in close coordination” with the United States and regional partners to intercept the launches.
“We are monitoring the threat in the airspace. It is a threat that takes several hours to reach the territory of the State of Israel,” he added.
Israel’s war cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (3rd L), holds a meeting to discuss the drone attack launched by Iran in Tel Aviv, Israel, on April 14, 2024.
Israeli Government Press Office | Anadol | Getty Images
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convened his war cabinet in Tel Aviv following the announcement of missile and drone launches, according to the Office of the Prime Minister.
International leaders including the President of the European Council Carlo MichelPrime Minister of the United Kingdom Rishi Sunak AND French Foreign Ministry publicly condemned Saturday’s Iranian attack.
The Biden administration expects Iran to target Israeli government sites, not civilian or religious sites, and not U.S. assets in the area, U.S. officials told NBC News.
The administration expects the attack to involve 100 drones, dozens of cruise missiles and dozens of ballistic missiles, one of the officials added.
Ahead of Saturday’s attacks, President Joe Biden was on his way back to the White House, earlier than expected, to meet with his national security team, including Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Secretary of State Antony Blinken, in growing prospect of an Iranian strike.
United States President Joe Biden walks on the South Lawn of the White House after arriving in Washington, DC, U.S., Saturday, April 13, 2024.
Shawn Thew | Bloomberg | Getty Images
On Saturday, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard seized a Portuguese-flagged merchant ship with connections to Israel in the Strait of Hormuz, a key shipping route. The White House condemned the move shortly after.
In anticipation of the attacks, airspace in Israel and throughout the region were temporarily closed.
Israel also announced that starting Sunday it would close schools and limit gatherings to 1,000 people in some areas.
Tensions between Iran and Israel have escalated since the war in Gaza began in October, and especially in recent weeks after Iran accused Israel of perpetrating an attack on its consulate in Damascus on April 1.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei looks at the coffins of members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps who were killed in the Israeli airstrike on the Iranian embassy compound in the Syrian capital Damascus, during a funeral ceremony in Tehran , Iran, on April 4, 2024. Office of the Iranian Supreme
WANA News Agency | Via Reuters
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said in a statement on Saturday that the missile and drone launches were “in response to the crimes of the Zionist regime.”
Iranian leaders, including Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, had previously pledged to retaliate against Israel for the attack on Damascus, and Israel, in turn, has threatened a counterattack of its own. Israel has neither confirmed nor denied its involvement in the Damascus attack.
“If Iran attacks from its territory, Israel will retaliate and attack in Iran,” Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz wrote on Wednesday. send on X, tagging Ayatollah’s X account.
Given Iran’s various warnings, the White House expected an Iranian attack and had communicated with Israel to ensure it was ready to defend itself.
In a statement following the launches, Iran’s mission to the United Nations warned the United States not to get involved.
“It is a conflict between Iran and the rogue Israeli regime, which the United States MUST STAY AWAY from!” the mission published to X.