Iran has initiated a significant aerial attack on Israel, deploying dozens of drones and potentially missiles, as confirmed by both US and Israeli officials this Saturday.
In a televised address, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that “in recent years, and even more so in recent weeks, Israel has been preparing for the possibility of a direct attack from Iran.” The attack was widely anticipated by US and Israeli intelligence agencies, which have been on high alert, expecting a forceful response from Tehran to last week’s attack on Iran’s embassy in Damascus, Syria.
According to Iranian media, the drones were launched from Yemen and may have been Iran’s HESA Shahed 136, a type of kamikaze uncrewed aerial vehicle designed to attack ground targets from a distance. The Shahed 136, also known as Geran-2, is intended to overwhelm enemy air defenses by being fired in salvoes.
Iran launched an attack on Israel, escalating long-standing tensions between the two nations.
Iran accused Israel of perpetrating a strike on its consulate in Damascus on April 1, and pledged to retaliate.
Israel also threatened a counterattack if Iran made any retaliatory moves, though Israel has neither confirmed nor denied its involvement in the Damascus strike.
Iran on Saturday launched attacks against Israel, according to the Israel Defense Forces, escalating long-standing tensions between the two nations that have the potential to trigger a regional war. Strains between Iran and Israel have been heating up since the start of the war in Gaza in October, and especially over the past several weeks after Iran accused Israel of perpetrating an attack on its consulate in Damascus on April 1.Iranian leaders, including Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, pledged to retaliate against Israel for the Damascus strike and Israel, in turn, 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 react and attack in Iran,” Israeli Foreign Affairs Minister Israel Katz wrote in a Wednesday post on X, tagging the Ayatollah’s X account. Given Iran’s various warnings, the White House had been expecting an Iranian strike and had been communicating with Israel to ensure they would be prepared to defend themselves. On Friday, President Joe Biden said he anticipated that Iran might strike Israel “sooner than later.” Ahead of the attacks on Saturday, Biden was en route back to the White House, earlier than initially scheduled, to meet with his national security team amid the growing prospect of an Iranian strik.Earlier on Saturday, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard seized a Portuguese-flagged cargo ship with links to Israel in the Strait of Hormuz, a key shipping route. The White House condemned the move shortly after. Ahead of the attack, Israel also announced that beginning on Sunday, it would close schools and limit gatherings to 1,000 people in certain areas.
John Kirby, the White House’s national security spokesman, said Friday that Iran’s threats to strike Israel remain “real” and “viable.” Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi, chief of Israel’s general staff, met with Kurilla about a possible Iranian attack after a separate meeting with commanders on the readiness of Israeli forces. Late Thursday, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin had called Gallant to reassure him Washington would defend its closest ally in the region if Tehran struck on its soil. Austin told Gallant “Israel could count on full U.S. support to defend Israel against Iranian attacks, which Tehran has publicly threatened,” a Pentagon spokesman said. Iran has threatened to retaliate for an attack last week in Damascus, Syria, that Tehran said was an Israeli airstrike on a diplomatic building. The strike killed several top Iranian military officials, including a senior member of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ elite Quds Force. An Iranian strike on Israel could inflame the region as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government is under growing international pressure to wrap up its military campaign against Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip. Hamas’s Oct. 7 attacks in Israel, which killed around 1,200 people, and Israel’s subsequent offensive in Gaza, which has claimed more than 33,000 lives, have ratcheted up tensions in the Middle East to a level not seen in decades. In their phone call on Thursday, Gallant told Austin that “a direct Iranian attack would require an appropriate Israeli response against Iran,” the Israeli Defense Ministry said. U.S. officials, frustrated by Israel’s decision to not inform them about the Damascus strike, have pushed their Israeli counterparts to share information about how Israel could respond to an Iranian strike, U.S. officials said, in part to protect forces in the region. Netanyahu met Friday with senior security officials, including Gallant, to discuss Israel’s readiness for an Iranian response, according to Israeli officials. In Tel Aviv, residents went about their day on Friday, flocking to cafes and shops on the first day of the Israeli weekend. The scenarios for a potential attack on Israel that have been presented to Khamenei include strikes by Tehran’s proxies in Syria and Iraq, according to advisers to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard and the Syrian government. To avoid an attack within Israel’s internationally recognized territory, Iran and its allies could also attack the Golan Heights, a disputed territory annexed by Israel from Syria in 1981, the advisers said. Another option would be to hit Israeli embassies, notably in the Arab world, to show them that friendly ties with Israel could be costly, these people said. In recent days, social-media accounts associated with Iran’s Revolutionary Guard have stepped up messaging around a potential attack on Israel. Several widely shared posts include satellite images of prominent locations in Israel, such as Ben Gurion Airport, surrounded by Iranian attack drones. “What place do you love? The choice is in your hands,” the posts, which were picked up by several Israeli media, say in Hebrew. Another post includes a video showing an Iranian hypersonic missile with the Farsi caption “5 minutes to Haifa and Tel Aviv.”
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps seized an Israel-linked container ship near the Strait of Hormuz between the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman on Saturday, the state-run Islamic Republic News Agency reported. IRGC special forces boarded the MSC Aries from a helicopter and directed it toward Iranian territorial waters, the Islamic Republic News Agency said, without giving a reason for the seizure. The vessel’s beneficial owner is Zodiac Maritime Ltd., part of Israeli businessman Eyal Ofer’s Zodiac Group, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. No one responded to a call to Zodiac’s office in London, outside of normal business hours. The vessel last called at the United Arab Emirates’ Khalifa Port and was sailing east toward the Strait of Hormuz as of Friday evening local time. Security and intelligence firm Ambrey Analytics said it received information of a “boarding” around 50 nautical miles northeast of the UAE’s Fujairah. The seizure comes as Israel braces for an Iranian response to a suspected Israeli attack on Iran’s embassy in Syria on April 1. Potential scenarios had included an unprecedented drone and missile strike on Israeli territory as early as this week, Bloomberg reported. Zodiac’s ships have been repeatedly targeted in attacks in the same area in recent years that the US and Israel have blamed on Iran. Tehran previously denied involvement.
Iran readies more than 100 cruise missiles and drones for deadly Israel strike, US intelligence officials reveal, as Pentagon moves aircraft carrier into the Red Sea amid fears of full-scale war
Iran has reportedly readied an arsenal of cruise missiles and drones as the country reportedly prepares to launch an attack on Israel
The country has threatened to hit back at Israel over an attack in Syria last week that Tehran say was an Israeli airstrike on a Iranian diplomatic building
Iran has reportedly readied more than 100 cruise missiles as part of an ‘imminent’ strike on Israel after the US moved more forces into the Middle East over fears an attack could spark a full-scale war. Military officials briefed on the matter told both ABC News and CNN that the US has observed Iran readying at least 100 cruise missiles, indicating they could be ready to attack. ABC also reported that a large number of drones that could be used in an attack on Israel have also been readied by the nation. Iran has publicly threatened to hit back at Israel over an attack in Syria last week, which Tehran say was an Israeli airstrike on a Iranian diplomatic building in Damascus. Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei vowed retribution in the wake of the Damascus attack, for which Tel-Aviv has yet to take responsibility.
Hezbollah announced on Friday that, in retaliation for what the group describes as “zionist aggressions” against southern villages and civilian homes, their fighters launched a drone attack on the Israeli Ramot Naftali base. Earlier, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) reported that approximately 40 rockets were launched from Lebanon towards northern Israel. The IDF claimed it intercepted some of these rockets, while others struck open areas or fell short within Lebanese territory.
Missile barrage from Iranian soil to Israel would be a first
Iran has vowed revenge for Syrian embassy assault last week
Israel is bracing for a direct and unprecedented attack by Iran on government targets as soon as Saturday, according to people familiar with western intelligence assessments, a move that has the potential to trigger an all-out regional war. An assault from Iranian soil has emerged as one of the main scenarios expected by the Jewish state and its allies, said the people, who asked not to be identified as they aren’t authorized to discuss the matter publicly. A bombardment with drones and precision missiles could come within the next 48 hours, they said. “I don’t want to get into secure information but my expectation is sooner rather than later,” President Joe Biden said Friday in response to a question about whether an Iranian strike was imminent. Asked what message he’d give to Iran, Biden responded, “Don’t.” “We are devoted to the defense of Israel,” Biden said. “We will support Israel, we will defend, help defend, Israel and Iran will not succeed.”
Oil jumped to the highest level since October on the news, rallying as much as 2.6% to top $92 a barrel before falling off on the close .Futures have surged 19% this year with the war adding risk premium to the market.
The US is preparing defenses and moved additional military assets to the region, while intensifying diplomatic efforts to rein in hostilities, the people said. Among the US forces in the Middle East are two Navy destroyers that moved to the Eastern Mediterranean Sea last week, according to a Navy official who asked not to be identified discussing military movements. One is the USS Carney, which was recently in the Red Sea performing air defense against Houthi drones and anti-ship missiles.
US officials including Jake Sullivan and Brett McGurk have been working to send messages to Iran, including through an established Swiss channel, one of the people said, while talking to Israel, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and other governments. The intelligence assessment is that the attack still hasn’t been approved by Tehran’s highest-ranking officials, according to the people. An Iranian missile and drone barrage would represent a retaliation for a deadly strike on its diplomatic compound in Syria last week, which the Islamic Republic blames on Israel.
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has repeatedly said Israel will be “punished” for the assault, though stopped short of saying what form such a counter move would take.
Late Friday, Israel reported 40 rocket launches from Lebanese territory and said some were intercepted. Israeli forces also intercepted two of Hezbollah’s explosive drones earlier in the day, the Israel Defense Forces said in a post on X. One of the people said it’s possible that the increasingly inflammatory rhetoric between Israel, Iran, and the US could be grandstanding, but said the working assumption for Israel and allies is that an attack is imminent. Diplomatic back-channels are in overdrive, the people said. Any Iranian attack on Israel would likely be a combination of missiles and drones, based on current capabilities outlined in a new Defense Intelligence Agency Worldwide Threat assessment released late Thursday. The regime “has a substantial inventory of ballistic and cruise missiles capable of striking targets as far as 2,000 kilometers from its borders,” the agency said. Western officials said intelligence showed Iran is preparing an attack on Israel any day after Eid al-Fitr, the Muslim holiday celebrated on April 10, adding the next 48 hours were critical to see if the message to diffuse tensions had successfully reached Tehran.
IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi wrapped up a “comprehensive” assessment of the military’s “readiness for all scenarios” a short while ago, before meeting CENTCOM chief Gen. Michael Erik Kurilla, the army says.
The assessment and following meeting come amid heightened alert in Israel for a potential Iranian attack on the country, with Iran threatening to respond to the assassination of two generals among several Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps officers in Syria’s Damascus last week.
“The IDF is well prepared in attack and defense against any threat. We are at war and have been on high alert for about six months. The IDF continues to closely monitor what is happening in Iran and in the various arenas, while constantly preparing to deal with existing and potential threats in coordination with the United States armed forces,” Halevi says following the assessment, in remarks published by the IDF.
“Our forces are prepared and ready at any time and against any scenario,” he adds.
The assessment was attended by Deputy Chief of Staff, Maj. Gen. Amir Baram, the head of the Operations Directorate, Maj. Gen Oded Basiuk, the head of the Military Intelligence Directorate, Maj. Gen. Aharon Haliva, the commander of the Air Force, Maj. Gen. Tomer Bar, the commander of the Home Front Command, Maj. Gen. Rafi Milo, and other officers, the IDF says.
The IDF says the top commanders presented their preparations “for attack and defense, while referring to possible scenarios and adjusting the operational response.”
Intelligence reports suggest Iran is planning an attack on Israel within the next 48 hours.
This escalation in tensions follows an Israeli airstrike on an Iranian consulate in Syria.
Oil prices jumped by 2% as markets fear potential disruption to oil supplies from the Middle East.
Oil prices spiked on Friday morning following reports of heightened tensions between Iran and Israel, with the possibility of an Iranian attack on Israeli soil looming within the next 24 to 48 hours. The Wall Street Journal, citing American intelligence reports, revealed this development, sending shockwaves through global oil markets. Both the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) and Brent crude oil prices experienced significant jumps, with WTI rising by $2.02 and Brent climbing by $1.78 per barrel by 9:20 a.m. ET. This sharp increase underscores the sensitivity of oil markets to geopolitical turmoil in the Middle East, a region critical to global oil supply. The catalyst behind the surge in tensions is the aftermath of an airstrike on April 1, targeting an Iranian consulate building in Damascus, Syria. The strike, reportedly carried out by Israel, resulted in the deaths of several high-ranking Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps commanders, including two generals. Iran views this attack as a direct provocation and is allegedly considering retaliatory measures against Israeli targets.Israel, already on high alert due to multiple threats and intelligence assessments pointing to an imminent Iranian strike, now finds itself bracing for potential reprisals. The specter of conflict between these two regional adversaries has escalated concerns about stability in the Middle East and its implications for global energy markets. Markets were already jittery this week, awaiting some retaliatory attack by Iran following the previous Israeli strike on Tehran’s embassy in Syria. While Tehran initially showed signs that it was eager to find a way to gracefully back down, fearing what is sure to be severe international blowback, today’s intelligence seems to suggest that Iran is keeping retaliation on the table. Both WTI and Brent benchmarks were trading up roughly 2% on the day, with Brent reaching $91.56 and WTI reaching $87.05—the highest crude price the market has seen in nearly 7 months.
A potentially devastating Iranian retaliation that could come within hours, according to alarming warnings from US officials. Two American officials have disclosed to CBSNews that Iran is preparing a large-scale attack on Israel, likely involving over 100 drones and dozens of missiles targeting Israeli military sites. The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, expressed doubt about Israel’s ability to fully defend against an assault of this magnitude. However, they acknowledged Iran may opt for a smaller strike to avoid further escalation. The anticipated retaliation follows an alleged Israeli airstrike on April 1 that killed seven Iranian commanders in Syria. While vowing revenge, Iran has not publicly revealed specifics about the timing or nature of its response, leaving uncertainties about how far the retaliation will go. A direct attack on Israeli soil raises fears of igniting a broader regional conflict, potentially drawing in Iranian-backed groups like Hamas and escalating beyond Israel’s control. The US State Department has urged Americans in Israel to restrict travel outside major cities protected by Iron Dome defense systems. It warned that US government personnel may face further travel limits as the volatile situation unfolds. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has defiantly stated, “Whoever harms us, we will harm them,” asserting Israel’s readiness to counter any aggression “both defensively and offensively.” Anxiety is high on both sides over the risks of miscalculation and uncontrolled escalation in this dangerous crisis. While neither Israel nor Iran wants full-scale war, the challenges of delivering a measured response could have catastrophic regional consequences if mishandled.
