Iran-Israel conflict LIVE | Israel says 99% missiles stopped; Tehran calls strike ‘successful’
Iran tells UN it will exercise its right to self-defence when required and its response will be “stronger” if Israel commits any military aggression again
Iran launched its first direct military attack against Israel on Saturday (April 13), firing scores of bomb-carrying drones towards the latter. An Israeli military spokesman said on Sunday the launches numbered more than 300, but 99 per cent of them were intercepted.
Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said Iran fired 170 drones, more than 30 cruise missiles, and more than 120 ballistic missiles. Several ballistic missiles reached Israeli territory, causing minor damage to an air base.
The Iranian attack on Saturday, less than two weeks after a suspected Israeli strike in Syria that killed two Iranian generals in an Iranian consular building, marked the first time Iran has launched a direct military assault on Israel, despite decades of enmity dating back to the country’s 1979 Islamic Revolution.
Iran’s letter to UN
Iran, in a letter to the United Nations, said it will exercise its inherent right to self-defence when required and that its response will be “stronger” and “more resolute” if Israel commits any military aggression again.
In the letter, the Permanent Mission of Iran to the UN said its attacks on Israel were in retaliation to the latter’s “military aggressions”, especially its April 1 attack on the Iranian embassy in Syria.
“This action was in the exercise of Iran’s inherent right to self-defence as outlined in Article 51 of the Charter of the United Nations, and in response to the Israeli recurring military aggressions, particularly its armed attack on 1st April 2024 against Iranian diplomatic premises, in the defiance of Article 2(4) of the Charter of the United Nations,” the Permanent Mission of Iran told the UN.
Later, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, Iran’s foreign minister, said they had informed the US the operation against Israel would be “limited” and for self-defence. “We don’t seek to expand conflict in the region,” he said.
Gaza war
Israel and Iran have been on a collision course throughout Israel’s six-month war against Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip.
The war erupted after Hamas and Islamic Jihad, two militant groups backed by Iran, carried out a devastating cross-border attack on October 7 that killed 1,200 people in Israel and kidnapped 250 others.
An Israeli offensive in Gaza has caused widespread devastation and killed over 33,000 people, according to local health officials.
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- 14 April 2024 2:33 PM IST
G7 to hold meet
US President Joe Biden has said he would convene a meeting of the Group of Seven advanced democracies on Sunday “to coordinate a united diplomatic response to Iran's brazen attack.” The language indicated that the Biden administration does not want Iran's assault to spiral into a broader military conflict.
Leaders from the G7 will hold a video conference on Sunday early afternoon to discuss the Iranian strikes against Israel, according to Italy, which holds the presidency of the group of developed countries, which includes the United States, Japan, Germany, France, Britain, and Canada.
- 14 April 2024 2:02 PM IST
Jordan reports it brought down Iranian objects over its territory
The Jordanian Council of Ministers says that its forces “dealt with” parts of the Iranian attack that flew over its territory, “to prevent them from endangering the safety of our citizens and residential and inhabited areas.” It said that fragments fell in multiple places but did not cause any significant damage or injuries.
The German Foreign Ministry said in a travel advisory Saturday that the Jordanian air force had shot down Iranian drones over Jordan, including over the capital, Amman.
Jordan’s airspace was reopened on Sunday morning. - 14 April 2024 2:02 PM IST
Japan PM condemns Iranian attack
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Sunday condemned Iran's attack on Israel as a move to worsen the ongoing Middle East situation.
“I am deeply concerned and strongly condemn the escalation,” he told reporters.
Kishida said his government will do the utmost for the safety of Japanese citizens in the region, and stressed the importance of diplomatic effort to prevent further escalation of tensions. He said there has been no report of injury to Japanese nationals so far from the attack.
Kishida made the comment shortly after returning to Tokyo after a weeklong visit to the United States, where he stressed Japan's role as a committed partner for the US in global security and other issues. - 14 April 2024 2:01 PM IST
Iran says its strike was more successful than it expected
The chief of Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard says the operation against Israel was more successful than expected.
Gen. Hossein Salami, in an interview with state TV, said they were still collecting information but that “the part of the hits that we have detailed and documented reports from the field show that this operation was more successful.”
He also said the Iranian forces had carried out a limited operation that matched “the evil that the Zionist enemy had done”. Salami described the Israeli air defence system as complex, multi-layered and advanced and said passing through this system was a very difficult task.
“It means designing an operation that can pass drones, cruise missiles and ballistic missiles through this space and destroy them (targets) on the ground with extremely high accuracy,” he said. - 14 April 2024 2:01 PM IST
Hamas lauds Iran’s attack on Israel
Hamas on Sunday praised Iran's unprecedented missile and drone attack on Israel, saying it was a “deserved response to the crime” of a strike on Iran's consulate in Syria two weeks ago.The strike on the Iranian diplomatic compound on April 1 killed two Iranian generals and was widely attributed to Israel.Hamas, an Islamic militant group backed by Iran, also appealed for continued support for its war with Israel in Gaza, now in its seventh month. Hamas directed the appeal at Arab and Islamic nations, as well as Iran-backed groups in the region.Hamas said in the statement that it is fighting for “the right of our Palestinian people to freedom and independence and the establishment of its Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital.” Hamas has been branded a terror organisation by the West and has rejected a so-called two-state solution, instead seeking Israel's destruction. - 14 April 2024 1:57 PM IST
Sunak condemns Iran’s ‘reckless’ attack as UK deploys jets
UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has condemned Iran’s attack against Israel as “reckless” and pledged that the UK would stand up for security in the region after Tehran launched dozens of aerial drones and cruise missiles overnight on Saturday and into Sunday.
The UK’s Ministry of Defence (MoD) said late on Saturday that several additional Royal Air Force (RAF) fighter jets had been moved to the region to help intercept the drone attacks.
The aircraft and air-fuelling tankers are being deployed as part of the UK’s ongoing Operation Shader against the Islamic State (ISIS) terrorist group in the region.
“I condemn in the strongest terms the Iranian regime’s reckless attack against Israel,” said Sunak in a statement issued by 10 Downing Street.
“These strikes risk inflaming tensions and destabilising the region. Iran has once again demonstrated that it is intent on sowing chaos in its own backyard. The UK will continue to stand up for Israel’s security and that of all our regional partners, including Jordan and Iraq,” said the British Indian leader.
“Alongside our allies, we are urgently working to stabilise the situation and prevent further escalation. No one wants to see more bloodshed,” he added.
“We have moved several additional Royal Air Force jets and air refuelling tankers to the region. These will bolster Operation Shader, which is the UK’s existing counter-Daesh (ISIS) operation in Iraq and Syria. In addition, these UK jets will intercept any airborne attacks within range of our existing missions, as required,” a UK MoD statement said.
“We will continue to cooperate closely with our regional partners in the interest of de-escalation,” it stated.
UK Defence Secretary Grant Shapps said Iran’s “senseless” actions further undermine regional security amid the Israel-Hamas conflict.
“We continue to work with Israel and partners in the region to prevent further escalation. Peace and stability are in everyone’s interest, and I urge Iran to immediately end all forms of destabilising behaviour,” said Shapps.
