AMP Report – April 13, 2024
Iran launches hundreds of missiles, drones in first attack on Israel
Iran launched a retaliatory strike Saturday on Israel for its attack on Iranian consulate in Damascus killing
Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) top commander Brigadier-General Mohammad Reza Zahedi and others.
Israel said Iran fired over 200 drones and missiles in the attack, which included more than 100 bomb-carrying drones toward Israel followed by a wave of cruise and ballistic missiles.
A spokesperson for the Israeli military, Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, said even though Iran launched hundreds of drones and missiles but a vast majority were intercepted.
A retired Israeli general, Amos Yadlin, told the country’s Channel 12 news that the Iranian drones were equipped with 20 kg (44 pounds) of explosives each.
Tellingly, on Friday, U.S. intelligence reports predicted an Iranian attack within 24 to 48 hours.
Tehran had been threatening to launch an attack on Israel after an airstrike earlier this month destroyed Iran's consulate in Syria, killing 12 people, including IRGC Brigadier-General Mohammed Reza Zahedi and senior commander Mohammad Hadi Haji Rahimi and five officers.
Iran’s U.N. Mission issued a statement on X saying that Iran’s military action was in response to Israel’s attack on an Iranian diplomatic facility in Syria. The statement said that Iran considered the matter “concluded” after the missile and drone strikes. But it warned that if Israel makes “another mistake,” Iran would deliver “a considerably more severe“ response.
Tasnim news said “in this attack, a combination of hundreds of drones and a large number of missiles of different types have been used. More importantly, this attack did not come from Iran only, and this regime is being punished from four directions.” Iran said that it attacked Israel from Yemen, from Lebanon and Iraq, as well as from Iran itself.
President Biden
President Joe Biden said the United States helped Israel take down "nearly all" of the drones and missiles launched during Iran's attack on Saturday.
"Earlier today, Iran—and its proxies operating out of Yemen, Syria and Iraq—launched an unprecedented air attack against military facilities in Israel. I condemn these attacks in the strongest possible terms," Biden said.
"At my direction, to support the defense of Israel, the U.S. military moved aircraft and ballistic missile defense destroyers to the region over the course of the past week. Thanks to these deployments and the extraordinary skill of our service members, we helped Israel take down nearly all of the incoming drones and missiles."The president said he spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, reaffirming Washington's "ironclad commitment to the security of Israel."
Unprecedented
The unprecedented attack from Iranian soil to Israeli territory is the most direct confrontation ever between the two adversaries. It threatens to spiral into a broader regional war whose consequences could also likewise be without precedent.
It is occurring more than six months after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel, which launched the ongoing war in Gaza as well as intensifying clashes between Israel and Hezbollah of Lebanon. Hezbollah and Israel frequently trade fire over the southern Lebanese border, which has killed at least 66 Lebanese civilians and approximately nine Israeli civilians, and Iraqi and Syrian militia groups have attacked US installations in both those countries over 150 times in the past six months in response to the US’s continued military support for Israel.
Tellingly, earlier on Saturday, Iran has seized a commercial ship with links to Israel as it passed through the Strait of Hormuz. The MSC Aries was boarded by Iranian special forces about 50 miles (80km) off the coast of the United Arab Emirates, a statement from the vessel's operator MSC said. The Portuguese-flagged ship is linked to Israeli billionaire Eyal Ofer.
Colombian President Gustavi Petro says we're now in the prelude to World War III
"It was predictable; we're now in the prelude to World War III precisely when humanity should rebuild its economy towards the rapid goal of decarbonization. The support of the U.S., in practice, for a genocide, has ignited the world. Everyone knows how wars start, no one knows how they end. If only the people of Israel were high enough, like their ancestors, to stop the madness of their ruler. The United Nations must meet urgently and must immediately commit to peace." [Reuters]
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The Journal of America Team:
Editor in chief:
Abdus Sattar Ghazali
Senior Editor:
Prof. Arthur Scott
Special Correspondent
Maryam Turab
