Iran has launched a missile attack on Israel. The armed forces announced this on the online platform X. A correspondent for the German Press Agency reported that strong explosions could be heard in Tel Aviv. The Iranian news agencies Isna and Tasnim also reported on the start of the attack.
The US government had previously warned of an “imminent” missile attack by Iran on Israel. Such a direct attack would have serious consequences for Iran, according to a statement from a government representative that was available to the German Press Agency. After warning of the rocket attack, Israeli authorities ordered people in the Tel Aviv area to stay near shelters.
The Iranian attack could be large-scale, warned army spokesman Daniel Hagari. The air defense systems are fully prepared and Israeli Air Force aircraft are patrolling the skies. Defense Minister Joav Galant discussed the situation in the evening with Chief of General Staff Herzi Halevi and high-ranking officials.
Back in April, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) carried out a direct attack on Israel for the first time in the history of the Islamic Republic. The IRGC air force fired more than 300 drones, rockets and cruise missiles at their arch-enemy. The attack was successfully repelled. Iran was reacting to the killing of high-ranking generals who were killed in a suspected Israeli attack in Syria.
Recently, Iran’s allies have been significantly weakened
Israel’s military and secret services had recently significantly weakened Iran’s allies in the region. At the end of July, for example, the foreign chief of the Islamist Hamas was killed in Tehran. Iran’s leadership then vowed revenge. Last Friday, Hassan Nasrallah, head of the Lebanese Shiite organization Hezbollah, another key ally of Tehran, was killed. Previously, exploding radio receivers, so-called pagers, injured hundreds of Hezbollah officials and killed several. Since then, it has been unclear whether and how Iran’s military leadership will respond.
On Tuesday, the Israeli military took another step: Israeli ground troops entered Lebanon again for the first time in almost two decades. Around a year after the start of the Gaza war, the focus of the fighting is shifting towards the neighboring country to the north. The army spoke of “limited” attacks near the border on targets of the Shiite Hezbollah, which is closely allied with Iran.
Since the 1979 revolution, the USA and Israel have been considered archenemies of the Islamic Republic. With the outbreak of the Gaza war almost a year ago, there were multiple threats that the shadow conflict would develop into a conflagration. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards are the country’s elite armed forces and are considered significantly more powerful than the regular army.
