Screengrab, via X.
Iran launched around 300 missiles and drones from its territory over the night of April 13 and 14 in the first-ever direct attack on Israel.
The attack, which was carried out by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), came in response to the April 1 Israeli strike on the Iranian embassy in the Syrian capital, Damascus. The attack claimed the lives of at least 13 people, including senior commanders from the Guards.
“In response to the numerous crimes committed by the Zionist regime, including the attack on the consular section… The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps fired dozens of missiles and drones at specific targets inside the occupied territories [Israel],” Iranian state television quoted an IRGC statement as saying as the strikes on Israel were announced.
The attack, codenamed “Operation Honest Promise,” was “being carried out with the approval of the Supreme National Security Council under the supervision of the General Staff of the Armed Forces,” the IRGC statement said.
Within minutes of the launch, the account on X of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei reposted his pledge that the “evil [Israeli] regime will be punished.”
In the hours leading to the attack Jordan, Iraq, and Lebanon shut down their airspace for several hours. Israel also announced that its airspace would be temporarily closed.
Egypt also placed its air defenses on high alert. Egyptian military and security sources told the media that the military’s General Command formed a team to monitor the situation and make any necessary decisions regarding the country’s airspace.
Syria also put its Russian-made Pantsir-S air defense systems around Damascus and major bases on high alert in the event of an Israeli strike, Syrian military sources told Reuters, explaining they expected Israel to retaliate against army bases and installations where Iranian-backed forces were based.
Shortly after midnight, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and top defense leaders convened at military headquarters in Tel Aviv for a security assessment.
A senior Israeli official was quoted by Channel 12 as promising an “unprecedented response” to Iran’s attack and urging Israelis not to go to bed due to what was coming Tehran’s way. The news channel also reported that the security cabinet authorized the war cabinet to make decisions regarding Israel’s response to the Iran attack.
Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) Spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari later confirmed that the Iranian attack, anticipated for several days, had begun.
Sirens began sounding in southern Israeli communities less than two hours after midnight and soon after extended to large swaths of the country. Loud blasts sounded across the north and the south as well as in Jerusalem and many towns across the West Bank.
Hagari later said that the IRGC launched more than 300 projectiles at Israel, comprising 170 drones, 30 cruise missiles and 120 ballistic missiles. He claimed that 99% of them had been intercepted by air defenses.
All 170 drones and 30 cruise missiles were downed outside of the country’s borders by the Israeli Air Force and its allies, the IDF spokesman said, claiming that not one drone or cruise missile managed to enter Israeli airspace.
The IDF announced that its Arrow anti-missile system managed to intercept the “vast majority” of the 120 ballistic missiles. However, it admitted that some penetrated Israel’s defenses and struck the Nevatim Air Base in southern Israel.
At Nevatim, “slight damage” was caused to infrastructure, but the air base was operating as usual, Hagari claimed. Video footage showing an F-35 fighter jet landing in the base were shared later.
Iranian and Arab media alleged that a key surveillance base of the IDF located on top of Mount Hermon in the occupied Syrian Golan Heights was also hit.
Security sources told Reuters that U.S. forces operating from undisclosed bases in the region shot down a number of Iranian drones in Sweida and Daraa governorate in southern Syria near the Jordanian border.
Jordanian jets downed dozens of Iranian drones flying across northern and central Jordan heading to Israel, two regional security sources said.
The sources added the drones were brought down in the air on the Jordanian side of the Jordan Valley and were heading in the direction of Jerusalem. Others were intercepted close to the Iraqi-Syrian border. They gave no further details.
There were also reports of drones being intercepted over the same region by British fighter jets. However, the Royal Air Force didn’t disclose any information.
During the attack, the British security firm Ambrey said that the Houthis (Ansar Allah) in Yemen launched multiple drones at Israel in coordination with Iran, adding that the projectiles were likely timed to reach Israel simultaneously.
“Unmanned aerial vehicles [UAVS] were reportedly launched by the Huthis toward Israel. The UAVs were launched in coordination with Iran,” the company said. “Israeli ports are assessed to be potential targets,” it added, and warned of “collateral damage” to shipping.
According to the IDF, drones launched from Yemen and Iraq amid the Iranian attack also failed to reach Israel.
It’s worth noting that the attack began only hours after the IRGC seized an Israel-linked Portuguese-flagged cargo ship near the Strait of Hormuz.
Israel will likely respond to the Iranian attack, which has clearly caused losses. Any uncalculated response could start an all-out war in the Middle East. Iran has already warned that it will hit back with even more force against any future Israeli attack.
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