Iran launched more than 330 drones and missiles at Israel in what was described as an “Iranian response” to the Israeli attack on the Iranian consulate in Damascus earlier. The US newspaper “The New York Times” reported that Iran launched 185 drones, 36 cruise missiles, and 110 surface-to-surface missiles, all within five hours. Iranian media reports stated that Tehran used over 300 Shahed drones in the attack on Israel. The Israeli army, during the attack, stated that the majority of the missiles launched from Iran “were intercepted outside Israel’s borders, and we continue to repel its threats.” At least four countries, including the United States, Britain, France, and Jordan, along with Israel, acknowledged their contribution to repelling Iran’s attack on Israel by intercepting Iranian missiles and drones on Saturday/Sunday night.
The US Department of Defense, “the Pentagon,” confirmed that US forces in the Middle East intercepted dozens of missiles and drones launched from Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Yemen. According to informed US officials speaking to CNN, US forces intercepted over 70 one-way attack drones and at least 3 ballistic missiles during the Iranian attack on Israel. One official stated that warships intercepted ballistic missiles in the eastern Mediterranean. The United Kingdom “shot down” a number of drones launched by Tehran during its attack on Israel on Saturday night, according to British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. Sunak confirmed that Britain shot down Iranian drones during the attack on Israel. Sunak said, “The Royal Air Force shot down a number of drones during the Iranian attack on Israel.” Two regional security sources said the Jordanian Air Force intercepted and shot down dozens of Iranian drones that violated the kingdom’s airspace and were heading towards Israel. They added that the army is also on high alert, and radar systems are monitoring any activity of drones coming from Iraq and Syria.
Regarding the US’s knowledge of the attacks before they occurred, a Turkish diplomatic source told CNN that Iran informed Turkey last week, before its strikes on Israel, of “response options.” Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan informed US Secretary of State Antony Blinken of the “possible developments” from Iran. The Turkish source said, “We were informed by the Iranian side of the options in advance,” adding that “possible developments” were also discussed during a phone call between Fidan and Blinken. The Turkish source pointed out that “the American side conveyed to Iran through us that the reaction should remain within certain limits.” Turkish diplomatic sources also stated that Fidan spoke by phone on Sunday with the Iranian Foreign Minister, saying that Turkey does not want to see further escalation in the region.
These attacks came in response to the Israeli attack on the Iranian consulate in the Syrian capital, Damascus.The death toll from the Israeli strike that targeted the Iranian consulate in Damascus rose to 16, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The observatory stated: “The human losses have risen to 16, including eight Iranians, five Syrians, and one Lebanese belonging to Hezbollah, all of whom were fighters, in addition to two civilians.” The observatory clarified that the civilians were “a woman and her son who lived on the fourth floor of the targeted building, which consists of four floors. The embassy rents the first two floors, while the third serves as a residence for the Iranian ambassador, Hussein Akbari, who survived the strike.” The Iranian Revolutionary Guard reported that seven of its members, including Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Zahedi and Brigadier General Mohammad Hadi Hajizadeh Rahimi, were killed in the strike. Zahedi (63 years old) served as the commander of the Quds Force in Syria, Lebanon, and Palestine. The Israeli occupation has carried out hundreds of airstrikes in Syria in recent years, mainly targeting Iranian objectives and others belonging to Hezbollah, including warehouses, weapon shipments, and ammunition, as well as Syrian army sites.
Regarding the building targeted by Israel in Syria, Syrian media reports it’s located in the Mezzeh neighborhood in Damascus, adjacent to the Iranian embassy building. Nearby are the Al-Razi hospital, the Canadian embassy, and two telecommunication companies. Iranian media reports state that the building is the Iranian consulate and the residence of the Iranian ambassador to Syria, with the Iranian flag flying over it at the time of the attack. In contrast, Israeli military spokesman Admiral Daniel Haggai stated that Tel Aviv believes the target struck in Damascus was “a military building for Quds Force troops,” a unit under the Iranian Revolutionary Guard. According to Haggai, “Based on our intelligence, this is not a consulate or an embassy; this is a military building for Quds Force troops disguised in civilian attire in Damascus.” Syrian media reports that the four-story building’s first floor belongs to Iranians. Two underground floors serve the embassy’s purposes, while two Syrian families reside on the third and fourth floors. Iran attempted to purchase or rent these floors, but the owners adamantly refused. When the building was bombed, an elderly woman and her grandson were killed.
The American newspaper “The New York Times,” citing Israeli officials, reported that the airstrike targeted a secret meeting inside the consulate, where Iranian intelligence officials and leaders of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement in Gaza were supposed to discuss war plans. However, the strike only resulted in the deaths of Revolutionary Guard figures, indicating that the Islamic Jihad leaders had not yet arrived at the building. Israeli Channel 14 also reported that Mohammad Reza Fallahzadeh, the deputy commander of the Quds Force, was supposed to attend this meeting but arrived late and survived the bombing. The Iranian ambassador to Syria was not in the building during the airstrike; he was on vacation in Tehran.
US officials expressed concerns that the Israeli attack on the Iranian consulate in Damascus could escalate hostilities in the region, prompting retaliatory attacks against Israel and its ally, the United States. Ralph Joffe, a former senior CIA official, described the Israeli attack as “incredibly reckless” and warned that it would only escalate tensions with Iran and its proxies, posing a severe threat to American soldiers in the region, who could be targeted in retaliatory attacks by Iran’s proxies. He believed that this attack aligns with Israel’s long-term strategy to weaken the Iranian Revolutionary Guard and its Quds Force, punishing them for their ongoing plots to kill or kidnap Israelis worldwide.
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