JERUSALEM, April 14 (Xinhua) -- Iran's attack on Israel has had a great impact
Xinhua News Agency reporters Zhang Tianlang and Lu Yingxu
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps announced in the early morning of the 14th local time that it had launched dozens of missiles and drones at Israeli targets. According to Israeli media and medical sources, air defense sirens sounded in several cities, accompanied by explosions. What is the current situation of Iran's attack on Israel, what is Israel's response, and what impact will the attack have on the situation in the region?
What is the current situation
The Israeli military issued a statement on the evening of the 13th saying that Iran had launched a drone at Israel. Israeli Air Force fighters and naval vessels are on high alert. All targets are being monitored by the Israel Defense Forces. The Israeli Ministry of Transport announced the closure of the airspace from 0:30 to 7:00 local time on the 14th.
According to Iran's Tasnim News Agency, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps announced that it had launched a large-scale missile and drone attack on Israeli targets in the early morning of the 14th local time. In a statement, the IRGC said the attack was against Israel for numerous "crimes," including a missile attack on the consular building of the Iranian embassy in Syria on April 1.
This is footage of the Israeli air defense system initiating the interception, taken in the early hours of April 14 over Tel Aviv, Israel. Xinhua News Agency (Photo by Tomer Neuberg/Gini Images)
According to Israeli media reports on the 14th, air defense sirens sounded in many Israeli cities on the same day, accompanied by explosions. Xinhua reporters heard several loud explosions in Jerusalem. According to the Israeli emergency department on the 14th, the attack has injured a 10-year-old Israeli boy.
Israeli media also reported that the US military carried out interceptions of Iranian missiles or drones over Jordan and Iraq. The media quoted a senior official as saying that 99 percent of Iran's missiles and drones were intercepted.
Shortly after Iran launched drones and missiles at Israel, dense and huge explosions were heard in Damascus, the capital of Syria, in the early morning of the 14th. According to the Syrian local media "Sham FM", in the early morning of the 14th, explosions were also heard in the area around Damascus and in the central province of Homs, and the explosions were generated during the response of the air defense system to enemy targets.
IDF spokesman Hagari issued a statement in the early morning of the 14th, saying that a military base of the Israeli army was "slightly damaged". According to Israeli military sources, the Israeli military has used the "David Slingshot" to defend against medium-range missiles and the "Arrow" air defense system to defend against long-range missiles, and has dispatched a large number of warplanes to intercept drones and missiles launched by Iran.
How Israel responded
In the early morning of the 14th, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urgently convened a meeting of the security cabinet to discuss how to respond to a large-scale attack by Iran. At the meeting, the security cabinet agreed to make decisions more efficient by empowering a wartime cabinet of Netanyahu, Defense Minister Gallant and opposition leader Benny Gantz to make decisions on what to do with the attack.
According to the analysis, although the attack has not caused a large number of casualties, attacks on Israel of a similar scale are rare, and Israel may not rest on its laurels and will take measures to make a strong response.
The photo, released on April 14, shows Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meeting at the Israeli Defense Ministry in Tel Aviv. Xinhua News Agency (Photo courtesy of the Information Office of the Government of Israel)
U.S. President Joe Biden said on social media on the 13th that the United States firmly supports Israel in resisting attacks launched by Iran and its "proxies". Earlier in the day, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke by phone with Israeli Defense Secretary Gallant, reiterating that the U.S. firmly supports Israel's defense operations and that Israel "can count" on the full support of the United States.
Iran's Permanent Mission to the United Nations said on social media platforms on the 13th that Iran's attack on Israel "can be considered over." The Iranian delegation said that Iran's military action was in response to Israeli aggression against Iran's diplomatic premises in Damascus, Syria. If Israel makes another mistake, Iran's response will be much more severe. This is a conflict between the Iranian and Israeli regimes, and the United States must stay out of it.
How to affect the situation in the region
The US Foreign Policy website wrote that this was one of the largest Iranian attacks in the Middle East in the past five years. After the attack, Lebanon, Iraq and other countries announced the temporary closure of their airspace due to security concerns, and explosions also sounded frequently in Jordan, Iraq, Syria and other places, and people filmed debris of downed missiles south of Amman, the capital of Jordan.
On April 8, the Iranian flag was raised at the new site of the consular section of the Iranian embassy in Syria in Damascus, the capital of Syria. Xinhua News Agency (photo by Amal)
Israeli media reported on the 14th, citing a senior official, that this is the first time that Iran has launched an attack on Israel from its territory, and "(Israel) needs to respond decisively." That reaction will come soon." Analysts believe that if Israel responds "in an offensive manner", it will inevitably trigger a series of escalating attacks and could lead to the situation spiraling out of control.
The UN Security Council will hold an emergency meeting on the 14th on Iran's attack on Israel. The Egyptian Foreign Ministry issued a statement in the early morning of the 14th, expressing deep concern about the regional situation. Saudi Arabia's foreign ministry also called on all parties to exercise "maximum restraint" in a statement to protect the people of the Middle East from the danger of war.
Analysts say Iran aims to re-establish deterrence against Israel through the attack. Israel and Iran have been engaged in a game in the Middle East in the form of indirect confrontation for many years, and with Israel's air strikes on the buildings of the Iranian embassy and consular buildings and Iran's retaliatory actions, the intensity of confrontation between the two sides may escalate significantly, which will add more uncertainty to the situation in the Middle East. (Participating reporters: Sha Dati, Duan Minfu, Li Jun, Cheng Shuaipeng, Ji Ze, He Yiping)