Jerusalem: The United States said it was discussing a joint response after Iran fired a barrage of missiles at Israel, warning Tehran of “severe consequences”.
Israel vowed it would make Iran “pay” after the attack late Tuesday, with most of the missiles intercepted, and pledged to immediately strike “the Middle East powerfully”.
Tehran, in turn, threatened to strike infrastructure across Israel if its territory was attacked.
President Joe Biden said the United States was “fully supportive” of Israel after the missile attack, adding that he would discuss a response with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Asked by reporters what the response towards Iran would be, Biden replied: “That’s in active discussion right now.”
Missiles shot down: Sirens sounded across Israel after Iran unleashed the missiles, most of which were intercepted by Israeli air defences or by allied air forces.
Iranian state media reported 200 missiles were fired at Israel including hypersonic weapons for the first time, which the Revolutionary Guards said had targeted “three military bases” around Tel Aviv and others elsewhere.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi posted on social media platform X that Tehran’s “action is concluded unless the Israeli regime decides to invite further retaliation”.
The Revolutionary Guards earlier said the attack was in response to Israel’s killing of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah last week as well as the death of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in a Tehran bombing widely blamed on Israel.
Israeli medics reported two people lightly injured by shrapnel. In the occupied West Bank, a Palestinian was killed in Jericho “when pieces of a rocket fell from the sky and hit him”, the city’s governor Hussein Hamayel told AFP.
It was Iran’s second direct attack on Israel after a missile and drone attack in April in response to a deadly Israeli air strike on the Iranian consulate in Damascus.
Severe consequences: US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin slammed an “outrageous act of aggression” by Iran, while Biden’s National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan told reporters there would be “severe consequences”.
Netanyahu said “Iran made a big mistake tonight and will pay for it.”
Iran reacted by threatening to fire “with bigger intensity” if its territory is attacked, with Major General Mohammad Bagheri warning Tehran would target “all infrastructure” in Israel.
Following the missile barrage, Israeli military spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari vowed the air force “will continue to strike (tonight) in the Middle East powerfully”.
The military subsequently announced it was bombarding Hezbollah targets in Beirut, with a Lebanese security source telling AFP that Israel had hit the city’s southern suburbs at least five times overnight.
