Iran has vowed a larger and crushing response if Israel retaliates to the hundreds of missiles it launched against the Hebrew state on Tuesday night.
A statement by the Iranian Revolutionary Gard Corp, IRGC, said the attack is in response to the killings of Hamas Politburo chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, and Hezbollah’s Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah and IRGC commander Abbas Nilforoushan in a massive Israeli strike on Beirut’s southern suburb last week.
“In the name of God almighty; as a response to the killing of Ismail Haniyeh, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, and Abbas Nilforoushan, we targeted the heart of the Zionist occupying entity – if Israel responds, we will hit them a thousand times harder’
Iran launched hundreds of missiles towards Israel on Tuesday night, as dozens of explosions boomed across Jerusalem with air raid sirens ringing out across the entire country.
The explosions came shortly after the military said that Iran had launched a missile attack targeting Israel.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps released a statement saying that in “response to the killing of Ismael Haniyeh, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, and Abbas Nilforoushan” they targeted Israel adding that “if Israel responds, we will hit them a thousand times harder.”
This came following US warnings that an the Iranian attack was imminent.
“A short while ago, missiles were launched from Iran towards the State of Israel,” the military said in a statement. It said sirens were sounded across Israel, including in Jerusalem.
The warning came as Israel said it had launched a ground offensive in Lebanon to target the Iran-backed militia Hezbollah, whose top leader Hassan Nasrallah was killed in an Israeli airstrike last week.
“The United States has indications that Iran is preparing to imminently launch a ballistic missile attack against Israel,” a senior White House official previously told AFP on condition of anonymity.
“We are actively supporting defensive preparations to defend Israel against this attack.”
Following the warning, the Israeli military said it had not detected the same threat so far.
“At this moment, we do not detect any aerial threat launched from Iran,” said military spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari.
“We are on high alert alongside our partners in the United States, our ally, and are closely monitoring developments in Iran.”
Hagari said the country’s air defense systems were fully prepared, while combat aircraft continued to patrol its skies.
The US official added, “A direct military attack from Iran against Israel will carry severe consequences for Iran.” The United States and other western allies stepped in to help defend Israel against a combined Iranian missile and drone attack in April, which Tehran launched in retaliation for an Israeli strike on the Iranian consulate in Damascus.
Iran said that Nasrallah’s killing would bring about Israel’s “destruction,” though the Foreign Ministry said on Monday that Tehran would not deploy soldiers to confront Israel.
With AFP
