Israel says Iran ‘will pay’ for launching a major missile attack against it
By Ivana Kottasová, Jeremy Diamond, Kevin Liptak, MJ Lee, Arlette Saenz, Kylie Atwood and Jennifer Hansler, CNN
Haifa, Israel (CNN) — Iran launched dozens of missiles toward Israel on Tuesday in what it said was a response to the killing of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and others – potentially taking the region closer to a wider conflict.
CNN teams on the ground in multiple locations in Israel observed dozens of missiles piercing through the skies as sirens blasted across the country. At least one person was killed and several were injured during the attack, according to the Israeli military.
The IDF’s international spokesman Nadav Shoshani told CNN’s Jake Tapper that one Palestinian was killed in Jericho as a result of the attacks.
Israel has vowed to respond to the attack – sparking worries among its allies that the conflict in the Middle East could escalate further.
Speaking hours after the assault, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said: “Iran made a big mistake tonight – and it will pay for it. The regime in Iran does not understand our determination to defend ourselves and our determination to retaliate against our enemies.”
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it estimated that Iran fired 180 “projectiles” at the country. It said it intercepted many of the missiles, although some landed on the ground in Israel and the occupied West Bank.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said later on Tuesday that the attack by Iran was “effectively defeated.”
While the attack was over relatively quickly, it is clear that it has further raised the stakes in what is already an extremely tense moment. World leaders have long warned the conflict between Israel and Iran’s proxies Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon could spiral into a wider regional war. All eyes will now be on how Israel responds.
US President Joe Biden said the United States was “fully supportive” of Israel. But he said his administration was still discussing with Israel what kind of response would be appropriate.
“We’re going to get all the data straight, we’re in constant contact with the Israeli government and our counterparts and that remains to be seen,” he said.
Israel is already fighting on two fronts. It has been at war with Hamas in Gaza since the deadly October 7 terrorist attack by the group on southern Israel. Tens of thousands of Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, with much of the strip reduced to rubble.
And while Israel and Hezbollah have been trading cross-border fire for much of the past year, Iran launched the barrage on Tuesday just hours after Israel announced it launched a “limited and localized” ground operation in Lebanon. Sending Israeli troops into Lebanon would have been seen as a major escalation by Iran.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said it targeted Israel in response to the killing of Nasrallah and others, according to Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency.
After the barrage of missiles was launched, the Iranian mission to the United Nations said that Tehran carried out a response to “the terrorist acts of the Zionist regime.”
The mission said on X that if Israel should “dare to respond or commit further acts of malevolence, a subsequent and crushing response will ensue.”
US warned about ‘imminent attack’
The White House warned earlier on Tuesday that Iran was poised to launch a ballistic missile attack on Israel soon, instantly ratcheting up fears of all-out war in the region.
People in Tel Aviv and other cities have been told to stay near shelters or other protected areas and the atmosphere on the streets was noticeably tense.
In a statement released mid-morning, just hours before Tehran launched the attack, the White House said it had “indications that Iran is preparing to imminently launch a ballistic missile attack against Israel,” adding the United States was “actively supporting defensive preparations to defend Israel against this attack.”
Israel assessed that Iran was likely to attack three Israeli air bases and an intelligence base located just north of Tel Aviv, a person briefed on the matter said before the attack. The IRGC said it targeted three Israeli military bases around Tel Aviv, according to the semi-official Iranian media outlet Mehr News.
The intelligence base in Glilot was evacuated Tuesday afternoon, the person said, and the Israeli military has put contingency plans for the safety of personnel at those bases into effect.
Two videos from the attack geolocated by CNN showed a number of Iranian missiles striking Nevatim air base in southern Israel based. CNN has reached out to the IDF for comment on the videos, but did not immediately receive a response.
Iran previously targeted the same base during a similar April 13 attack.
Israel weighing its response
US and Arab diplomats have been concerned about the scale of Israel’s response. One major concern on their mind is Israel possibly using a forthcoming Iranian strike to respond by striking inside Iran, potentially against its nuclear facilities.
“There is no place in Iran that the long arm of Israel cannot reach, and that’s true of the entire Middle East,” Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu said during his speech at the United Nations last week.
The US was earlier prepared to do whatever it can to help Israel intercept anything Iran directed its way, similar to how the US offered its assistance in April, when Iran launched a wave of drones and missiles towards Israel — the vast majority of which were successfully intercepted, a US official said.
After the attack, Biden praised the role US played in thwarting Iran’s missiles, calling the attack “defeated and ineffective.”
“This is testament to Israeli military capability, and US military. It’s also a testament to intensive planning between the United States and Israel to anticipate and defend against the brazen attack we expected,” he said.
Vice President Kamala Harris also condemned the attack and said she supported Biden’s decision to direct US military to help Israel shoot down Iranian missiles.
Harris, who is the Democratic presidential nominee, said she was in the Situation Room earlier on Tuesday alongside Biden, and received updates from their national security team, adding that they “ensured that the protection of US personnel in the region is paramount.”
Meanwhile, former president and the Republican nominee Donald Trump argued Iran launched the attack because “they don’t respect our country anymore,” and argued the US was diminished on the world stage because of Biden and Harris’ leadership.
Top officials from France, Britain, Germany and the European Union have all condemned Iran’s missile attacks on Israel, warning of potentially disastrous consequences for the wider region.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer denounced what he called an “attempt by the Iranian regime to harm innocent Israelis” and “escalate this dangerous situation” in the Middle East.
Germany’s foreign minister Annalena Baerbock said Germany has “urgently warned Iran against this dangerous escalation.”
She said the attack by Iran was “leading the region further into the abyss.”
The EU’s top diplomat, Josep Borrell, warned a “dangerous cycle of attacks and retaliation” is underway that risks “spiraling out of control.”
This story has been updated with additional developments.
CNN’s Pauline Lockwood and Niamh Kennedy contributed reporting.
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