Soon immediately after launching drone assaults from Israel, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei issued an ominous danger on social media.
The Context:
Iran’s drone assaults versus Israel on Saturday appear in the wake of an Israeli strike that killed two Iranian generals and five other officers earlier this thirty day period in Syria.
Rigidity involving Israel and Iran has been mounting due to the fact the starting of the Israel-Hamas war when the Palestinian militant group introduced a shock assault killing 1,200 folks in Israel on October 7, 2023. Israel subsequently launched an procedure to focus on Hamas in Gaza, killing over 30,000 Palestinians, in accordance to regional overall health officials.
The Israeli Defense Force (IDF) informed Newsweek that Iran released unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) from in just its territory towards Israel.
A spokesperson for IDF stated through a press briefing on Saturday night that the “intention is to intercept the drones and and everything else that that may arrive.” IDF would not confirm if it experienced intercepted any drones or what their meant targets had been. Even though over 100 drones experienced been introduced, IDF said that Israel’s air defenses ended up ready for the attack.
U.S. and Israeli officials have both accused Iran of furnishing not only political, but also materials backing to Hamas and Islamic Jihad, as properly as other militias overseas this sort of as Lebanon’s Hezbollah, Yemen’s Ansar Allah, also identified as the Houthi motion, and an array of forces in Iraq and Syria.
Majid Saeedi/Getty
What We Know:
Khamenei vowed on Saturday to punish Israel in reaction to the lethal strike on the Islamic Republic’s embassy in Syria.
In a submit on X, formerly Twitter, Khamenei shared a about minute-extended video of a speech he gave on Wednesday and wrote: “The destructive Zionist regime will be punished.”
“The destructive regime alone, which is all malice, evil, and error, added yet another oversight to its have mistakes by launching an assault on the Iranian consulate in Syria,” he said all through his speech. “The destructive routine has designed a mistaken go in this scenario. It ought to be punished, and it will be punished.”
Newsweek attained out by way of e mail on Saturday evening to reps for Tehran for comment.
Sights:
Israeli Primary Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded to the assault in a publish on X wherever he shared a movie clip.
“The Point out of Israel is potent, the IDF is powerful, the people of Israel are sturdy,” Netanyahu wrote. “Together we will stand, and with God’s help – together we will defeat all our enemies.”
United States President Joe Biden has expressed ongoing aid for Israel, a U.S. ally, due to the fact the begin of the war.
National Safety Council (NSC) spokesperson Adrienne Watson advised Newsweek by using e-mail that Biden is being on a regular basis updated on the situation by his countrywide safety staff and that the White Dwelling is in “constant conversation” with Israeli officials and allies.
“President Biden has been apparent: our assistance for Israel’s protection is ironclad,” she extra. “The United States will stand with the people of Israel and aid their protection versus these threats from Iran.”
What is Following?
IDF claimed Israeli authorities expect to carry out a “scenario evaluation” early Sunday early morning.
Update 4/13/24, 6:27 p.m. ET: This post has been current with additional info and remark IDF.
Unheard of Expertise
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Newsweek is dedicated to hard standard knowledge and finding connections in the research for typical ground.
