Iran has told Israel that it will get a "much stronger response" to any "reckless" response to its first-ever air attack. Iranians fired more than 300 drones and rockets at Israel overnight after Israel attacked Iran's consulate in Syria on April 1. Israel and its partners said they had stopped 99% of the weapons.
Iran had been at odds with Israel for years, but this was their first direct attack on the country. Concerns about a big rise in violence in the Middle East have led world leaders to call for calm.
After the attack, Benjamin Netanyahu, the prime minister of Israel, said, "Together we will win," but it is not clear what his country will do next.
The defense and foreign ministers of Israel said last week that if Iran struck, Israel would hit back inside Iran. There was going to be an attack after the attack on the consulate in Damascus that killed seven Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) soldiers.
AFP reported that Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi said, "If the Zionist regime [Israel] or its supporters act recklessly, they will receive a decisive and much stronger response."
Its most powerful military group, the IRGC, said it attacked "in response to the Zionist regime's repeated crimes, including the attack on the Iranian embassy's consulate in Damascus."
The Iran mission to the UN said after the strikes that "the matter can be deemed concluded."
Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Maj. Gen. Mohammad Bagheri told state TV that the US had been warned by Switzerland that if the US supported an Israeli response, US sites in the region would be attacked.
US President Joe Biden talked to Mr. Netanyahu after the attack by Iran and repeated "America's ironclad commitment to the security of Israel." He said the attack on Israel was "unprecedented" and that the US had helped Israel and its partners "take down nearly all" of the missiles and drones.
People all over Israel heard sirens and loud blasts, and air defense systems shot down objects over Jerusalem.
According to Israeli security sources quoted by the New York Times, the main targets seemed to be military bases in the captured Golan Heights.
A military official for Israel said that about 360 weapons had been shot, including 170 explosive drones, 30 cruise missiles, and 120 ballistic missiles. However, Israel has said that not much damage has been done.
A spokesperson for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, said that some Iranian rockets had hit inside Israel, damaging a military base but not hurting anyone.
An medical service in Israel said that a seven-year-old Bedouin girl had been hurt by shrapnel from falling objects in the southern Arad region. She is said to have had surgery.
The big increase in tensions between Israel and Iran will make world leaders think about what to do. Many will criticize the attack or warn of the risks of going further.
Mr. Biden said that he would get "my fellow G7 leaders together to plan a united diplomatic response to Iran's brazen attack."
The head of the UN Security Council, Vanessa Frazier, said that there will also be an emergency meeting later.
According to a statement from UN Secretary General António Guterres, the large-scale attack on Israel by Iran was a "serious escalation."
He asked for "an immediate cessation of these hostilities" and asked everyone to be as calm as possible.
Rishi Sunak, the prime minister of the UK, called the strikes "reckless." Josep Borrell, the head of foreign affairs for the EU, called them a "grave threat to regional security."
China's foreign ministry called for calm, calling it "the latest spillover of the Gaza conflict." Russia's foreign office said it was "extremely concerned over another dangerous escalation."
In a speech to large crowds at the Vatican on Sunday, Pope Francis said, "I deeply urge you to stop any action that could fuel a spiral of violence that could bring the Middle East into an even bigger conflict."
Since Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, killing 1,200 people and holding more than 250 others hostage, and Israel's subsequent military action in Gaza, there has been more unrest in the Middle East. Hamas controls the health ministry, which says that since the war started, at least 33,729 people have died in Gaza.
Iran had been at odds with Israel for years, but this was their first direct attack on the country. Concerns about a big rise in violence in the Middle East have led world leaders to call for calm.
After the attack, Benjamin Netanyahu, the prime minister of Israel, said, "Together we will win," but it is not clear what his country will do next.
The defense and foreign ministers of Israel said last week that if Iran struck, Israel would hit back inside Iran. There was going to be an attack after the attack on the consulate in Damascus that killed seven Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) soldiers.
AFP reported that Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi said, "If the Zionist regime [Israel] or its supporters act recklessly, they will receive a decisive and much stronger response."
Its most powerful military group, the IRGC, said it attacked "in response to the Zionist regime's repeated crimes, including the attack on the Iranian embassy's consulate in Damascus."
The Iran mission to the UN said after the strikes that "the matter can be deemed concluded."
Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Maj. Gen. Mohammad Bagheri told state TV that the US had been warned by Switzerland that if the US supported an Israeli response, US sites in the region would be attacked.
US President Joe Biden talked to Mr. Netanyahu after the attack by Iran and repeated "America's ironclad commitment to the security of Israel." He said the attack on Israel was "unprecedented" and that the US had helped Israel and its partners "take down nearly all" of the missiles and drones.
People all over Israel heard sirens and loud blasts, and air defense systems shot down objects over Jerusalem.
According to Israeli security sources quoted by the New York Times, the main targets seemed to be military bases in the captured Golan Heights.
A military official for Israel said that about 360 weapons had been shot, including 170 explosive drones, 30 cruise missiles, and 120 ballistic missiles. However, Israel has said that not much damage has been done.
A spokesperson for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, said that some Iranian rockets had hit inside Israel, damaging a military base but not hurting anyone.
An medical service in Israel said that a seven-year-old Bedouin girl had been hurt by shrapnel from falling objects in the southern Arad region. She is said to have had surgery.
The big increase in tensions between Israel and Iran will make world leaders think about what to do. Many will criticize the attack or warn of the risks of going further.
Mr. Biden said that he would get "my fellow G7 leaders together to plan a united diplomatic response to Iran's brazen attack."
The head of the UN Security Council, Vanessa Frazier, said that there will also be an emergency meeting later.
According to a statement from UN Secretary General António Guterres, the large-scale attack on Israel by Iran was a "serious escalation."
He asked for "an immediate cessation of these hostilities" and asked everyone to be as calm as possible.
Rishi Sunak, the prime minister of the UK, called the strikes "reckless." Josep Borrell, the head of foreign affairs for the EU, called them a "grave threat to regional security."
China's foreign ministry called for calm, calling it "the latest spillover of the Gaza conflict." Russia's foreign office said it was "extremely concerned over another dangerous escalation."
In a speech to large crowds at the Vatican on Sunday, Pope Francis said, "I deeply urge you to stop any action that could fuel a spiral of violence that could bring the Middle East into an even bigger conflict."
Since Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, killing 1,200 people and holding more than 250 others hostage, and Israel's subsequent military action in Gaza, there has been more unrest in the Middle East. Hamas controls the health ministry, which says that since the war started, at least 33,729 people have died in Gaza.
