Iran's attack on Israel/US reactions to ballistic missiles

2024-10-01 22:12:51, Kosova & Bota CNA

Israeli army spokesman Daniel Hagari said the threat from Iranian missiles appeared to be over and said residents could leave the shelters. According to him, there were no victims from the attack.

"There will be consequences for the attack. We have plans and we will act according to the time and place that we determine", added the spokesperson.

According to Israeli army radio, nearly 200 rockets were fired from Iran towards Israel.

Israeli authorities announced the suspension of all flights to and from Israeli airports. A similar announcement about the closure of the airspace was made a little earlier by Jordan.

According to the Reuters news agency, witnesses said they saw some of the launched missiles fall over Jordanian airspace, while dozens more continued to move towards Israel.

Iran's Revolutionary Guard announced that it had fired several dozen rockets at Israel and that the attack would be repeated if there was a response from Israel.

The alarm about an Iranian attack on Israel was first given a few hours before it was launched by a White House official.

Air raid warning sirens sounded for about an hour across Israel, instructing residents to go to shelters.

President Biden and Vice President Harris followed Iran's attack on Israel from the Situation Room in the White House, being regularly briefed by the national security team.

President Biden wrote on the social network X that "the United States is prepared to help Israel to defend itself and to protect American personnel in the region."

US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin discussed today with Israeli Defense Minister Gallant, before the start of the missile attack by Iran, about the "severe consequences" that Iran would have if it attacked Israel.

According to Pentagon spokesman Pat Ryder, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin during a telephone conversation with Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant stressed that "the United States is in a good state of readiness to protect American personnel, allies and partners in the face of threats from Iran and organizations Iranian-backed terrorists and are determined to prevent any actor from exploiting tensions and widening the conflict in the region.”

According to the Iranian mission to the UN, if Israel retaliates, the next wave of attacks from Iran will be "devastating".

In a statement posted on Platform X of Iran's Mission to the UN, Iranian authorities said Iran's "lawful, rational and legitimate counter-response to the terrorist acts of the Zionist regime - which includes targeting Iranian nationals and interests and violating of the national sovereignty of the Islamic Republic of Iran – was successfully carried out.”

"If the Zionist regime dares to retaliate or commit other malicious acts, another and devastating retaliation will follow. Regional states and Zionist supporters are advised to part ways with the regime," Iran's post said.

The Reuters news agency quoted an Iranian official as saying that the Iranian attack was ordered by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and that Tehran has prepared for a possible retaliation from Israel.

Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei is in a safe place after the missile attack on Israel, a senior Iranian official told Reuters news agency.

He was flown to safety following Israel's assassination of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah last week.

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres condemned "the expansion of the conflict in the Middle East as a further escalation of the conflict."