Iran-Israel Attack Live Updates: Iran Retaliates, Attacks Israel with Hundreds of Drones, Missiles
Iran appears to have now been fully dragged into Israel’s war on Gaza: On Saturday, April 13, Iran launched a retaliatory attack on Israel with hundreds of drones and missiles.
According to Iran, the attack was in response to an Israeli raid on the Iranian consulate in Syria on Monday, April 1.
Source: Getty Images
In Nigeria, "World War 3" is trending on X as many fear that the development may snowball into another global war.
Follow Legit.ng's live updates of the developments in Iran and Israel and how the rest of the world is reacting.
"You're on Your Own", Joe Biden Explains Why US Will Not Back Israel to Fight Iran
The United States President Joe Biden and top national security team members were reported to be working to avoid the risk of a wider regional war in the Middle East. This followed a number of Iranian missile and drone attacks on Israeli territory.
Thus, the US president told their counterparts it would not participate in any offensive move against Iran. According to CNN, this was disclosed by top officials who were familiar with the development.
While having a phone conversation with Benjamin Netanyahu, the prime minister of Israel, Biden described the successful interception of the Iranian Missiles and Drones as a major victory for Tel Aviv. The US president then suggested that further Israel's response was not necessary.
Israel promises to retaliate Iran's counter-attacks
CNN has reported that an official of Israel said its country would retaliate against the counter-attack by Iran, but the scope of the retaliation was yet to be determined.
The official made the disclosure on Sunday, April 14, hours after the counter-attack by Iran, saying that Israel was yet to determine whether to try and “break all the dishes” or do something more measured.
Iran warns Israel against retaliation
Iran, on Sunday, April 14, warned of a larger attack on Israeli territory should Israel launch a reprisal attack on Tehran following the drone and missile attacks on Israel after the former earlier attacked its consulate.
According to Reuters, the Islamic Republic noted that the U.S. bases would be its targets should Washington backs any military action from Israel against Iran.
Israel's foreign minister speaks on possible reprisal attack against Iran
Israel Katz, an Israeli foreign minister, has disclosed that its country is likely to launch a reprisal attack on Iran after the Middle East country repelled drones and missile attacks from the Islamic country overnight.
According to WSJ, Katz disclosed the possibility to an Israeli radio on Sunday morning, April 12, recalling that a few days before Iran's reprisal attack, Israel said it would respond to any Iranian attack on its territory.
“If Iran attacks Israel, Israel will attack Iran. That assertion remains valid. We authorized the relevant forum headed by the prime minister to promote this topic, and I trust them to make the right and appropriate decisions.”
Iran-Israel attack live: World leaders react
President Biden said he "condemned Iran's attacks in the strongest possible terms and reaffirmed America’s ironclad commitment to the security of Israel."
Read Biden's full statement on Iran’s attacks against Israel below:
Also, Rishi Sunak, the prime minister of the United Kingdom (UK), described Iran's attack on Israel as "reckless". His statement below:
Similarly, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said his country “unequivocally condemns Iran’s airborne attacks”, adding:
“We stand with Israel.”
Meanwhile, unlike the US, UK and Canada, China, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Qatar, Egypt and a host of others have not taken sides but called for restraints to avoid regional escalation,
Nigeria and many other African countries have yet to issue statements on the development.
Most of Iran's missiles intercepted, says Israel
According to the Israelis, the vast majority of the missiles launched by Iran were intercepted.
The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) Spokesman, Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said the ballistic missiles caused slight damage to a military base.
He said most of the missiles were intercepted by the long-range Arrow air defence system.
Legit.ng gathers that President Joe Biden said the US forces helped Israel down “nearly all” of the drones and missiles launched.
Iran-Israel attack live: Extent of damage inside Israel being assessed
It is yet unclear how much damage Iran's attack has caused in Israel. However, some injuries have been reported, including a seven-year-old girl near the southern town of Arad, who is in intensive care.
Iran-Israel attack live: Iran says operation completed
After firing over 300 drones and missiles, Iran said its operation is completed, according to Al Jazeera.
It, however, warned Israel of bigger response if attacked.
Nurudeen Lawal (Head of Politics and Current Affairs Desk) Nurudeen Lawal is an AFP-certified journalist with a wealth of experience spanning over 8 years. He received his B/Arts degree in Literature-in-English from OAU. Lawal is the Head of the Politics/CA Desk at Legit.ng, where he applies his expertise to provide incisive coverage of events. He was named the Political Desk Head of the Year (Nigeria Media Nite-Out Award 2023). He is also a certified fact-checker (Dubawa fellowship, 2020). Contact him at lawal.nurudeen@corp.legit.ng or +2347057737768.
Bada Yusuf (Politics and Current Affairs Editor) Yusuf Amoo Bada is an accomplished writer with 7 years of experience in journalism and writing, he is also politics and current affairs editor with Legit.ng. He holds B.A in Literature from OAU, and Diploma in Mass Comm. He has obtained certificates in Google's Advance Digital Reporting, News Lab workshop. He previously worked as an Editor with OperaNews. Legit’s Best Editor of the Year for Politics and Current Affairs Desk (2023). Contact: bada.yusuf.amoo@corp.legit.ng
