UPDATE (3:04 p.m. EDT)
Israeli officials have confirmed, per Axios, that U.S. troops are helping to defend against Iran’s ballistic missile attacks:
Israeli missile defense systems launched dozens of Arrow missiles to try and intercept the incoming attack. U.S. troops are also helping Israel to intercept incoming missiles, an Israeli official said.
Multiple Iranian missiles hit central Tel Aviv according to eye witnesses and videos shared online.
Israeli emergency services said 15 people had been confirmed wounded.
What they’re saying: Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei said in a speech on Iranian state television shortly before the attack that Iran’s armed forced would leave Israel “helpless,” and stressed that the response would not be “a half-measure.”
“The Iranian nation won’t permit the blood of its valued martyrs to go unavenged, nor will it ignore the violation of its airspace,” he added.
UPDATE (2:52 p.m. EDT)
Missile interceptions and at least one impact have been reported in Tel Aviv.
Israeli’s Channel 12 reported that an anonymous senior Israeli official warned against euphoria following the initial IDF strikes, which appear to have been successful:
“Iranian missiles will get here, and it won’t take them long. The results will not be minor. That’s precisely why we need to use every moment to attack and not hold back. We won’t take our foot off the gas. We are preparing for a lengthy conflict. This is one of the most significant historic events since the establishment of the state.”
The most likely retaliatory scenario presented to ministers involved a phased missile barrage from Iran comprising 600 missiles.
According to updated tallies, the Islamic Republic of Iran has launched 100 ballistic missiles at Israel, affecting both Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. Israel has carried out at least eight waves of airstrikes on Iranian military targets since last night.
ORIGINAL ARTICLE:
The Israeli military reported detecting dozens of missiles launched from Iran on Friday afternoon, marking a dramatic escalation in regional tensions. Air raid sirens sounded across Israel, including in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, as residents were urged to seek shelter.
The barrage is Iran’s direct retaliation for Israel’s earlier large-scale operation, codenamed Operation Rising Lion, described by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as “a targeted military operation to roll back the Iranian threat to Israel’s very survival.” The strikes on key nuclear facilities and military installations reportedly resulted in the deaths of several high-ranking Iranian military officials and nuclear scientists.
The Wall Street Journal has additional details:
Israel said it had detected dozens of missiles launched from Iran and was working to intercept them, after Israel conducted wide-ranging strikes on the country’s nuclear program and military leadership. Iran earlier fired 100 drones at Israel that were shot down in transit and Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has said Israel “should expect severe punishment” for the attack.
Israel’s strikes killed the head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and dozens of targets were hit in an operation that pushed the region into a new conflict with uncertain consequences. Two hundred jet fighters wrapped up the first wave of the attack, Israel said.
President Trump told The Wall Street Journal on Friday that he was aware of Israel’s plans to attack Iran: “Heads-up? It wasn’t a heads-up. It was, we know what’s going on.” Earlier, he urged Iran’s leadership to make a deal “before there is nothing left.”
Prime Minister Netanyahu stated that military operations against Iran would continue “as long as necessary” to neutralize threats stemming from Iran’s nuclear program. Meanwhile, Ayatollah Khamenei condemned the Israeli strikes, vowing severe reprisals and criticizing Israel for purportedly targeting civilian areas.
This is a breaking news story. Please check back for updates.
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Iran keeps making a bunch of noise and sending their toys to Isreal means they are not paying attention to history. Every nation in the mideast that has proclaimed war on Isreal and attacks is soon without military equipment and wondering what happend as Isreal seems to win every conflict. It would be smarter to cooperate with them, and prosper, have peace etc, but no someone had got to be stupid.