Calls for calm after Iran launches massive missile attack

By Nathan Morley

The Israeli military says 99% of the drones and missile fired at it from Iran overnight were intercepted without hitting their target.

The action was Iran’s first ever direct attack on Israel involving more than 300 aerial drones and missiles. The US said some of the missiles were launched from Yemen, Iraq, and Syria, where Iran has a military presence.

Israel said there were a small number of hits on its territory, including at a military base in southern Israel, while a youngster was injured.

Iran said the assault was a response to what it called ‘various Israeli crimes’ including a deadly attack on its consulate in Syria. It later said the attack ‘achieved all its objectives’ and cautioned Israel against responding in kind.

It now transpires that several other countries were involved in helping Israel defend itself against the Iranian attack. The United States played a significant role in helping to stop some of the drones, as did French aircraft and British jets from the UK Royal Air Force base in Cyprus.

Jordan also intercepted ‘objects’ that entered its airspace.  The involvement of so many countries underlines the huge risks of an escalation in this evolving crisis.

Meanwhile, the United States is arranging a meeting of G7 leaders to co-coordinate their response to events. Earlier, the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres condemned the attack and urged all parties to exercise maximum restraint.