Game on!

Iran & Israel drag the US into escalating war

Iran has launched a significant attack of drone and missile strikes on Israel, according to Iran’s Islamic Republic News Services, the White House, and Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), widening fears of a regional war in the Middle East or a global conflict.

Iranian state media said the attack was in retaliation for the Israeli strike on an Iranian consular building this month in Damascus, Syria, which killed seven people, including two senior members of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said in a statement that it launched dozens of missiles and drones and US forces shot down some of the flying killer robots as they were headed toward Israel.

Iran launched drones at Israel directly from its territory Saturday, the Israeli army said, marking a major escalation of the long-running covert war between the regional foes.

Israel had earlier said that it was bracing for a possible Iranian attack after an air strike killed two Iranian generals in Syria last week. Iran blamed Israel for the air strike and vowed revenge. Israel has not commented on the strike.

Jordan announced it was closing its airspace Saturday as regional tensions soared after Iran threatened reprisals against Israel for a deadly air strike on its consulate building in Damascus.

Commandos from Iran’s Revolutionary Guard rappelled onto a container ship “linked to Israel” near the Strait of Hormuz and seized the vessel on Saturday, Iran’s state news agency claimed, adding that the ship was being transferred to Iran’s territorial waters.

An Israeli military spokesperson warned that Iran “will bear the consequences for choosing to escalate the situation any further”.

US troop reinforcements are headed to the Middle East amid fears of a wider regional war emerging from Israel’s battle against Hamas in Gaza.

At least 33,686 Palestinians have been killed and 76,309 injured in Israel’s military offensive in Gaza, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory.

About 1,170 people were killed in the Hamas-led October 7 attacks and 250 people were taken hostage, according to Israeli figures, with 132 still missing.

U.S. officials confirmed that the United States is attempting to walk a line of helping its ally without getting pulled deeper into a regional war, by targeting some of the Iranian drones,

The barrage is the first attack launched by Tehran against Israel from Iranian soil.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps launched “dozens of drones and missiles” toward Israel, state media reported. The attack was aimed at “specific targets” in Israel, it said.

Iran launched drones at Israel directly from its territory Saturday, the Israeli army said, marking a major escalation of the long-running covert war between the regional foes.

IDF spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said the “direct attack” from Iran is a “severe and dangerous escalation.”

“Our defensive and offensive capabilities are at the highest level of readiness ahead of this large-scale attack from Iran,” he said in a video address. “This is a mission that we are determined and ready to fulfill.”

Israel Defense Forces spokesman Daniel Hagari said in brief remarks Saturday evening it would take several hours for the drones to reach Israel. Aerial defenses are on “high alert,” with air force jets and navy vessels on a “defense mission in Israeli air and naval space,” he said.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had said earlier that Israel was prepared for a “direct attack from Iran” following its threats of retaliation for a deadly air strike on its Damascus consulate.

A US official cited by Russia’s Sputnik news agency said that Washington was aware of the start of Iran’s retaliatory attacks.

A spokesperson for the National Security Council said President Joe Biden was being regularly updated on the unfolding situation and would meet with his national security team at the White House.

NSC Spokesperson Adrienne Watson said the attack by Iran, which had been expected for days, “is likely to unfold over a number of hours.”

“President Biden has been clear: our support for Israel’s security is ironclad. The United States will stand with the people of Israel and support their defense against these threats from Iran,” said Watson.

“Iran has begun an airborne attack against Israel. President Biden is being regularly updated on the situation by his national security team and will meet with them this afternoon at the White House,” said Watson. “His team is in constant communication with Israeli officials as well as other partners and allies.”

“This attack is likely to unfold over a number of hours. President Biden has been clear: our support for Israel’s security is ironclad,” said Watson. “The United States will stand with the people of Israel and support their defense against these threats from Iran.”

Biden said that his administration’s “commitment to Israel’s security against threats from Iran and its proxies is ironclad.”

Israel is on high alert and forces are “constantly monitoring” the situation, the IDF said, adding that the air defenses are also on alert.

Fighter jets and naval vessels are also on a defense mission around Israel, the IDF said.

Iran was expected to strike Israel after an alleged Israeli strike earlier this month hit near the Iranian embassy in Damascus, Syria, killing two senior officers in Tehran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

Britain has deployed more Royal Air Force fighter jets and refueling tankers to the Middle East to help intercept “any airborne attacks within range of our existing missions,” Defense Secretary Grant Shapps said.

Shapps condemned Iran’s attack on Israel, saying it “serves no benefit other than to further undermine regional security.”

The slain IRGC officers were the highest-profile deaths since the Israel-Hamas war began in October, and the biggest blow to Tehran since the U.S. drone strike in 2020 that killed Qasem Soleimani in Iraq. Their deaths led to a public outcry in Iran.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau condemned Iran’s attack on Israel, saying it would further destabilize the region and could complicate efforts for peace.

“These attacks demonstrate yet again the Iranian regime’s disregard for peace and stability in the region,” Trudeau said in a statement. “We support Israel’s right to defend itself and its people from these attacks.”

Three sons of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh were killed Wednesday in an Israeli air strike in the Gaza Strip, relatives and official Hamas media said, with Haniyeh accusing Israel of acting in “the spirit of revenge and murder”.

The news comes as Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said that recognition of a Palestinian state is “in Europe’s geopolitical interests” while speaking with lawmakers in Madrid. Read our blog to see how the day’s events unfolded.