The situation in the Middle East is at an extreme after yesterday’s attack by Iran on Israel. Iran fired about 200 missiles at Israeli territory yesterday in retaliation, according to the Tehranfor the assassinations of the Lebanese leaders Hezbollah and the Palestinian one Hamas.
It was the second such attack in six months. We will respond, says Israel. This attack will have consequences for Iran, assures the US, which is already in talks with Israel about the response to Iran. At the same time, Iran is also showing its teeth. Its president Massoud Pezeskian called on Israel not to come into conflict with Iran because the attack of 200 ballistic missiles is only a part of the country’s power.
The Israeli pounding of Beirut continues
Meanwhile, these developments are recorded with the Middle East immersed in an explosive situation and Israel still pounding the southern suburbs of Beirut throughout the night of Tuesday while the Israeli front in the Gaza Strip remains active. International calls for a cease-fire in Lebanon and Palestine continue to fall on deaf ears, and such a thing seems further away than ever before.
KYSEA is in session
The alarm in the Middle East has also sounded in Athens. Today, Wednesday, at 4:30 p.m., an extraordinary meeting is held under Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis the Governmental National Security Council (CYSEA).
The entire international community is on high alert as the parties involved each throw out threats of retaliation.
“Iran will hit all of Israel’s infrastructure if attacked”
Iran will hit “all of Israel’s infrastructure” if it is attacked in retaliation for Tuesday’s 200-missile launch, Iran’s chief of general staff warned. Mohammad Bagheri.
“If the Zionist regime, which has gone mad, is not controlled by its American and European supporters, wants to continue its crimes or act against our (national) sovereignty and territorial integrity, an operation like tonight’s (in .s. yesterday), with even greater intensity” and “all its infrastructures will be targeted”, General Bagheri said through Iranian state television.
The announcement of the Revolutionary Guards
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said dozens of rockets had been fired at Israel and warned that if Israel retaliated, Tehran’s response would be “more overwhelming and devastating,” Iranian state television reported.
RAW FOOTAGE: Watch as Iranian missiles rain over the Old City in Jerusalem, a holy site for Muslims, Christians and Jews.
This is the target of the Iranian regime: everyone. pic.twitter.com/rIqUZWN3zy
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) October 1, 2024
The US military is on Israel’s side
Pentagon spokesman Pat Ryder said Iran launched “about twice as many missiles” yesterday as it did in April.
Earlier, it was announced by the White House that President Biden had ordered his country’s military to “help Israel defend itself” and that “missiles” that had been fired at the close US ally had been shot down. Just as it did on April 13, when the US military helped intercept hundreds of missiles and drones fired by Iran at Israel in retaliation for the leveling of the Iranian consulate in Damascus, which was blamed on the Israeli military.
USA: This attack will have consequences for Iran
The US administration has insisted it wants to “coordinate” with Israel on retaliating for the attack.
“Certainly, this attack will have consequences for Iran. I won’t expand on those implications today, but there are things we will be coordinating with our Israeli counterparts on,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said.
Washington had no idea about the attack
“This is completely false. The Iranian government did not warn us that it was going to launch such an attack,” Mr. Miller said, refuting reports of contact.
He emphasized that Tehran did not “telegraph” information about the attack, as in April. But Washington had “indications” that Iran was about to launch ballistic missiles at Israel, he added.
France is mobilizing military forces
At the same time, France, in response to the Iranian attack, is mobilizing military forces in the Middle East. French President Emmanuel Macron said he strongly condemned Iran’s attacks on Israel, adding that as a sign of its commitment to Israel’s security it mobilized its military forces in the Middle East on Wednesday.
Hamas praises Iran’s missile strikes
On the other hand, Hamas said it praised the Iranian missile strikes to avenge the deaths of Hamas leader Ismail Haniya, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and Revolutionary Guards Brigadier General Abbas Nilforoushan.
Military invasion of southern Lebanon – Fires rage on both sides
At the same time, the ground operation of the Israeli army in southern Lebanon has been in full progress since dawn, with the Israeli Armed Forces (IDF) giving an update on the objectives of the operation and noting that it is a “limited scope” operation.
In the briefing, the representative of the IDF, Mr Daniel Hagarioutlined the goals of the operation, which he said is aimed at ending as soon as possible and will continue until the tens of thousands of displaced Israelis living near the border with Lebanon can safely return to their homes.
He also emphasized that the operation does not target Beirut or the other areas in southern Lebanon. “We will not go to Beirut. We will not go to the cities in southern Lebanon. We are focusing on the area of these villages next to our border,” he clarified.
Earlier in his post on X, IDF Arabic-speaking spokesman Avihai Andrai had mentioned 30 villages by name, calling on residents to evacuate immediately and head north of the Awali River, noting that “you are forbidden to go south. Any direction south can put your life in danger.”
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