Global alarm at air attack by Iran
Fears of wider war after 300 drones and missiles launched
THE international community has reacted with alarm after an Iranian missile and drone strike on Israel threatened to spiral into a wider war in the Middle East.
Leaders of the G7 “unequivocally” condemned the unprecedented attack on Israel and warned that the risk of an “uncontrollable regional escalation” must be avoided after a meeting was called by US President Joe Biden.
Later, in a joint statement, they said they were “stand ready to take further measures now and in response to further destabilising initiatives”.
Israel said it and its allies thwarted 99 per cent of the more than 300 drones and missiles launched in the unprecedented strike from Iran, Iraq, Syria and Yemen yesterday.
War cabinet minister Benny Gantz said Israel will "exact a price" from Iran when the time is right.
The attack followed a strike widely blamed on Israel on an Iranian consular building in
Syria earlier this month which killed two Iranian generals.
The two foes have for years been engaged in a shadow war fought by Iranian-backed proxies Hamas, Hezbollah and and Yemen's Houthi rebels.
However yesterday's assault marked the first time Iran has launched a direct military assault on Israel, despite decades of enmity dating back to the country's 1979 Islamic Revolution, which made hostility towards the "Zionist regime" a core tenet of its doctrine.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, inset, confirmed that RAF jets shot down “a number of” Iranian drones and called for “calm heads to prevail”.
Israel has established with US help a multi-layered air defence network capable of intercepting a wide variety of threats.
That system, along with collaboration with US and other forces, helped thwart what could have been a far more devastating assault at a time when Israel is already bogged down in its war against Hamas in Gaza and engaged in lowlevel fighting on its northern border with the Hezbollah militia.
Mr Biden said US forces helped Israel down "nearly all" the drones and missiles and pledged to convene allies to develop a unified response.
He cut short a weekend stay at his Delaware beach house to meet with his national security team at the White House and spoke to Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu.
"I told him that Israel demonstrated a remarkable capacity to defend against and defeat even unprecedented attacks – sending a clear message to its foes that they cannot effectively threaten the security of Israel," Mr Biden said. During the call, he made clear the US would not participate in any offensive action against Iran, according to a senior administration official.
Secretary of state Antony Blinken said the US does "not seek escalation", and would hold talks with its allies in the coming days. The US, along with its allies, has sent direct messages to Tehran to warn against further escalating the conflict.
Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard issued a threat warning the “terrorist” US government against “any support or participation in harming Iran's interests (which) will be followed by decisive and regretting response by Iran's armed forces”.
Israel and Iran have been on a collision course throughout Israel's six-month war against Hamas militants in Gaza, triggered by the October 7 attack on Israel.
Militants from Hamas and Islamic Jihad, also backed by Iran, killed 1,200 people in Israel and kidnapped 250 others.
An Israeli offensive in Gaza has caused widespread devastation and killed more than 33,000 people, according to local health officials.