Israel says 300 Iranian drones and missiles downed in ‘unprecedented’ attack

Iran
rained
a
deluge
of
drones
and
missiles
on
Israel
on
Saturday
night
in
response
to
a
suspected
Israeli
strike
that
killed
top
Iranian
officials
in
Syria,
in
a
deep
escalation
of
Middle
East
tensions.

Israel
said
it
identified
300
“threats
of
various
types”
and
eliminated
“99%”
of
those
bound
for
Israeli
soil,
according
to

an
update
from
an
Israel
Defense
Forces
spokesperson,
Rear
Admiral
Daniel
Hagari.
He
said
a
10-year-old
girl
was
“severely
injured
by
shrapnel”
but
reported
no
additional
casualties,
adding
that
“several
launches”
were
also
made
toward
Israel
from
Iraq,
Yemen
and
Lebanon.
 

Last
night
marked
the
first
instance
of
a
direct
attack
on
Israel
from
Iranian
territory.
Iran-backed
factions
–
such
as
Palestinian
militant
group
Hamas,
Lebanon’s
Hezbollah,
Yemeni
Houthi
and
Bashar
al-Assad’s
Syrian
administration
–
have
engaged
militarily
with
the
Jewish
state.
 

Earlier
on
Saturday,
Iran’s
Revolutionary
Guards
had
seized
a
cargo
ship
in
the
Strait
of
Hormuz,
claiming
a
connection
to
Israel.

Iran’s
chief
of
staff
of
the
armed
forces,
Major
General
Mohammad
Bagheri,
said
that
Tehran’s
operation
had
now
concluded
and
would
involve
no
further
actions,
in
comments

carried
by
Iran’s
state-owned
Islamic
Republic
News
Agency.

“At
this
juncture,
the
Islamic
Republic
of
Iran
has
no
intention
of
continuing
defensive
operations,
but
if
necessary,
it
will
not
hesitate
to
protect
its
legitimate
interests
against
any
new
aggression,”
Iran’s
Foreign
Minister
Hossein
Amir-Abdollahian

said
on
social
media
on
Sunday,
according
to
a
Google
translation.

Israel
and
Iran
have
been
on
the
cusp
of
direct
conflict
since
the
start
of
Israel’s
military
campaign
in
the
Gaza
Strip,
which
came
in
response
to
Hamas’
terror
attack
of
Oct.
7.
Iran
vowed
revenge
after
a
suspected
Israeli
strike
on
an
Iranian
consulate
in
Damascus,
Syria,
on
April
1,
which
killed
several
top
Iranian
military
commanders.

“We
will
not
be
able
to
comment
on
the
claims
regarding
a
strike
in
Damascus,”
an
Israeli
foreign
ministry
spokesperson
told
CNBC
by
email,
adding,
“Iran’s
attack
on
Israel
on
the
night
of
April
14th
is
a
direct
attack
on
a
sovereign
nation,
its
use
of
proxies
for
the
last
decades
and
the
destabilizing
effect
of
the
Ayatollah
regime
in
the
region
and
beyond
must
end.”

Israel’s
Ambassador
to
the
U.N.,
Gilad
Erdan,
has
also

called
an
emergency
meeting
of
the
U.N.
Security
Council
and
“demanded
that
they
condemn
Iran’s
attack
on
Israel
and
designate
the
Iranian
Revolutionary
Guard
Corps
as
a
terror
organization.”

The
European
Union
has
blasted
Tehran’s
offensive:
“The
EU
strongly
condemns
the
unacceptable
Iranian
attack
against
Israel,”
EU
High
Representative
Josep
Borrell

said
late
Saturday
on
social
media.
“This
is
an
unprecedented
escalation
and
a
grave
threat
to
regional
security.”

U.S.
President
Joe
Biden
also
denounced
the
Iranian
strike
on
Saturday
as
“unprecedented”
and
asked
to
convene
G7
leaders
to
“coordinate
a
united
diplomatic
response
to
Iran’s
brazen
attack,”

according
to
a
White
House
statement.
 

“While
we
have
not
seen
attacks
on
our
forces
or
facilities
today,
we
will
remain
vigilant
to
all
threats
and
will
not
hesitate
to
take
all
necessary
action
to
protect
our
people,”
he
added.

Relations
between
stalwart
allies
Washington
and
Israel
had
appeared
to
slightly
chill
in
recent
weeks,
with
Biden
warning
further
support
would
hinge
on
Israel
taking
steps
to
protect
civilians
and
humanitarian
aid
workers
in
the
Gaza
enclave.

But
the
U.S.
–
alongside
the
U.K.
and
France,
according
to
Israeli
military
–
intervened
to
mitigate
last
night’s
Iranian
attack
and
the
assault
could
reignite
urgency
to
pass
a
key
$95
billion
bill
including
funding
for
Israel
and
Ukraine,
which
has
passed
the
Senate
but
stagnated
on
Republican
opposition
in
the
U.S.
House
of
Representatives.

“In
light
of
Iran’s
unjustified
attack
on
Israel,
the
House
will
move
from
its
previously
announced
legislative
schedule
next
week
to
instead
consider
legislation
that
supports
our
ally
Israel
and
holds
Iran
and
its
terrorist
proxies
accountable,”
said
House
leader
Steve
Scalise

on
social
media.

“Congress
must
also
do
its
part.
The
national
security
supplemental
that
has
waited
months
for
action
will
provide
critical
resources
to
Israel
and
our
own
military
forces
in
the
region,”
Mitch
McConnell,
Senate
Republican
leader,

said
in
a
statement.
“We
cannot
hope
to
deter
conflict
without
demonstrating
resolve
and
investing
seriously
in
American
strength.”

Oil
futures
prices
are
in
focus
after
intermittently
swelling
in
recent
months
on
trade
disruptions
and
delays
caused
by
Red
Sea
maritime
attacks
from
Yemen’s
Houthi,
who
claim
solidarity
with
the
Palestinian
people.

Iran
is
also
home
to
vast
oil
resources,
which
it
has
been
largely
routing
toward
China
since
the
U.S.
reimposed
sanctions
during
Donald
Trump’s
administration.

The
Iranian
currency
fell
to
a
record
low
of
705,000
rials
/
USD
on
the
unofficial
market
around
10:30
a.m.
local
time
on
Sunday,
according
to
data
from
foreign
exchange
monitoring
site
Bonbast.

The
Tel
Aviv
Stock
Exchange’s
flagship
index,
the
TA-35,

was
down
0.38%
at
10:23
a.m.
London
time.

In
aviation,
several
airlines

grounded
or
diverted
service
through
the
Middle
East,
following
the
Iranian
attack.
Jordan,
Iraq
and
Lebanon
have
reopened
their
airspaces
after
brief
closures
on
Saturday
in
the
wake
of
the
offensive,
Reuters
reports.

—

CNBC’s
Emma
Graham
contributed
to
this
report