The United Nations Security Council held a meeting on the situation in the Middle East, including Iran’s recent attack on Israel, at United Nations headquarters in New York City on Sunday.
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The United Nations Security Council held a meeting on the situation in the Middle East, including Iran’s recent attack on Israel, at United Nations headquarters in New York City on Sunday.
Charly Triballeau/AFP via Getty Images
Iran launched a salvo of more than 300 drones and missiles at Israel over the weekend – in what is believed to be Iran’s first direct attack on a regional enemy from Iranian soil.
Almost all of these weapons were intercepted by Israel and its allies, including the United States. However, according to Israeli officials, several Iranian ballistic missiles bypassed defenses, seriously injuring a 7-year-old girl and slightly damaging a military base in southern Israel.
Iranian officials said the attack was in response to an airstrike earlier this month targeting Iran. Consulate in Damascus, Syria. Seven Iranian military officials, including two generals, were killed.
Israel neither confirmed nor denied being behind the attack in Syria, although Iran and the Pentagon said Israel was responsible.
On Sunday, a senior Iranian military official said Iran’s “campaign” against Israel was over and there would be no more attacks forthcoming, according to Iranian state media.
However, tensions continue to rise in the Middle East. Now the focus is on how Israel and other countries will respond to Iran’s escalation. An Israeli military spokesman on Sunday said leaders had “approved operational plans for both offensive and defensive actions” without going into detail.
Here’s what to know:
Israel said nearly all air attacks were stopped, largely thanks to Israel’s advanced air defense system.
Mohamad Hassouna, 49, pointed to a hole in the roof of a building left by a bullet that wounded his 7-year-old daughter in their Bedouin village in the southern Negev desert on Sunday.
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Mohamad Hassouna, 49, pointed to a hole in the roof of a building left by a bullet that wounded his 7-year-old daughter in their Bedouin village in the southern Negev desert on Sunday.
Ahmad Gharabli/AFP via Getty Images
In the days before the attack, the US and Israel coordinated closely on air defense preparations. However, a US official described Iran’s attack as “advanced” compared to what the US and Israel expected.
According to the Israeli military, about 99% of aerial attacks carried out by Iran and its proxies were intercepted outside Israeli airspace. American, French, Jordanian and British forces helped Take down Iran’s weapons.
Israel’s most advanced air defense system, the Arrow 3, provides primary protection against Iranian ballistic missiles. Arrow 3 has been around for several years but has never faced such an onslaught.
Israeli military spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said on Sunday that the Arrow 3 had “demonstrated its ability to counter a significant number of ballistic missiles”.
However, several people were still injured by shrapnel after the attack, including a 7-year-old Bedouin girl who required surgery for a head wound, the The Age of Israel And Haaretz report. Hagari confirmed reports.
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said the country informed the US before the attack through Swiss intermediaries, and announced that the attack would not target US personnel or bases in the area. However, US officials said there was no communication from Iran before the strike about where the weapons would be targeted.
Israel attacks Hezbollah targets in Lebanon, calls on the UN to condemn Tehran
People gather around a destroyed building that was the target of Israeli airstrikes on Nabi Sheet village in Baablbek district in eastern Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley on Sunday.
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On Sunday, Israel said its warplanes attacked an alleged ammunition production site in southern Lebanon belonging to the Iran-backed Hezbollah militia.
The Israeli military said the attack was in response to an Iranian airstrike over the weekend, adding that Hezbollah was responsible for about 40 missiles targeting Israel. The Age of Israel report.
Israel and Hezbollah have regularly exchanged fire across the border with Lebanon since the October 7 surprise attack by Hamas and Israel’s subsequent invasion of Gaza. Iran has long supplied Hamas with money and weapons but the White House did not directly link Iran to the October 7 attack.
At an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council on Sunday, Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations, Amir Saeid Iravani, said Iran had no choice but to “exercise its inherent right to self-defense.” according to international law”. Iravani said his district “does not want escalation or war in the region” and does not want to start a conflict with the US.
At the meeting, Israeli ambassador to the United Nations Gilad Erdan called on the United Nations to “impose all possible sanctions on Iran before it is too late”. He added: “This attack crossed all red lines and Israel has the legal right to retaliate.”
Israel’s war cabinet also gathered to discuss how to respond to Iranian attacks. Israeli leaders have not yet said what their response will be.
Biden told Netanyahu that the US would not engage in offensive operations against Iran
In this photo provided by the White House, President Biden meets with members of the national security team on Saturday in the White House Situation Room in Washington, D.C.
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In this photo provided by the White House, President Biden meets with members of the national security team on Saturday in the White House Situation Room in Washington, D.C.
White House via Getty Images
President Biden is calling on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to proceed with caution in considering how to respond.
According to an anonymous US defense official, Mr. Biden told Mr. Netanyahu that the United States remains fully committed to defending Israel but will not participate in offensive operations against Iran. Since the Israel-Hamas war broke out in Gaza last October, Biden has made clear that he does not want the conflict to expand into a broader regional war.
“I think Israel has to think carefully about what it will do next,” the official said. “Nobody wants to climb the ladder here.”
In Congress, House Republicans are making changes to their legislative schedule this week to consider an undisclosed offer that would further support Israel.
Republicans also aim to include language that “holds Iran and its terrorist organizations accountable,” House Majority Leader Steve Scalise announced in a statement released Saturday night.
World leaders called for restraint to avoid broader regional conflict in the Middle East
In a statement on Sunday, G7 leaders said that Iran had further destabilized the region and that they stood in solidarity with Israel. G7 includes the United States, Canada, Italy, Great Britain, France, Germany, Japan and the European Union.
“This must be avoided. We will continue our efforts to stabilize the situation and avoid further escalation,” the leaders said.
On Saturday, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres said he condemned Iran’s attack and was “extremely vigilant about the real danger of a devastating escalation across the region”.
Governments in the Middle East, incl Qatar and United Arab Emiratesalso issued statements expressing concern and calling for restraint so as not to aggravate tensions in the region.
NPR’s Jane Arraf, Tom Bowman, Greg Myre, Deepa Shivaram, Barbara Sprunt and Hadeel Al-Shalchi contributed reporting.
