Why Iran attacked Israel and what comes next

The question of drones and missiles that flew towards Israel Sunday brought with it a caller signifier of tension, uncertainty and confrontation successful the Middle East.

Iran launched the unprecedented onslaught successful effect to a suspected Israeli onslaught connected the Iranian consulate successful Damascus, Syria, earlier this month.

It marked a caller section successful a discord betwixt the 2 states that percolated for years and has spiralled since Israel declared warfare connected Hamas past October.

The adjacent steps stay unclear, but Israel is facing pleas from its allies to measurement backmost from the brink of unfastened warfare and take a way of de-escalation.

Here's what you request to know.

How did Iran onslaught Israel?

More than 300 projectiles - including astir 170 drones and implicit 120 ballistic missiles - were fired toward Israel successful the immense aerial onslaught aboriginal Sunday. Approximately 350 rockets were fired from Iran, Iraq, Yemen, and Lebanon's Hezbollah, according to Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesperson Daniel Hagari.

However, "99%" of the projectiles were intercepted by Israel's aerial defence systems and its allies, according to the Israeli military, with lone a tiny fig reaching Israeli territory.

Tehran's onslaught targeted the Nevatim airbase, an Iranian service authoritative said connected Sunday, alleging that this is wherever Israel's aboriginal April onslaught connected the Iranian consulate was launched from.

Iranian ballistic missiles that reached Israel fell connected the airbase successful the southbound of the state and caused lone airy structural damage, Hagari said. The basal is functioning and continuing its operations pursuing the attack, with planes continuing to usage the base, Hagari added.

A elder US subject authoritative told reporters Sunday that the US assessed "there's nary important harm wrong Israel itself."

US ships successful the eastbound Mediterranean Sea destroyed betwixt 4 and six Iranian ballistic missiles during the onslaught and craft successful the portion changeable down much than 70 Iranian one-way UAVs headed toward Israel. The US Army Patriot rocket artillery changeable down 1 ballistic rocket successful the vicinity of Erbil, Iraq, the authoritative said.

Why did the onslaught instrumentality place?

Israel and Iran are long-standing rivals and person been engaged successful a shadiness warfare for years.

Israel's warfare connected Hamas, waged since the militant radical attacked Israel connected October 7, has heightened those tensions.

Iranian-backed forces successful Iraq and Syria person launched attacks aimed astatine US subject positions successful those countries and Iran's enactment has warned that attacks by its allies won't halt until Israel's warfare successful Gaza ends.

But fears of a spiralling determination warfare spiked further successful aboriginal April, erstwhile Iran accused Israel of bombing its diplomatic analyzable successful Syria.

That airstrike destroyed the consulate gathering successful the superior Damascus, sidesplitting astatine slightest 7 officials including Mohammed Reza Zahedi, a apical commandant successful Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards (IRGC), and elder commandant Mohammad Hadi Haji Rahimi, Iran's overseas ministry said astatine the time.

Zahedi, a erstwhile commandant of the IRGC's crushed forces, aerial force, and the lawman commandant of its operations, was the astir high-profile Iranian people killed since then-US President Donald Trump ordered the assassination of IRGC Gen. Qassem Soleimani successful Baghdad successful 2020.

Iran Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Israel would beryllium punished for the attack, portion President Ebrahim Raisi said it would "not spell unanswered," authorities quality bureau IRNA reported. The Iran-backed Lebanese militant radical Hezbollah said the onslaught would beryllium met with "punishment and revenge."

The portion has been connected borderline ever since, with the US and Israel informing of quality that an Iranian onslaught was imminent.

How person Israel and its allies responded to the Iranian strike?

Israel reacted angrily to the unprecedented strikes, portion praising its military's response.

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said the onslaught had been "thwarted this onslaught successful a mode that is unparalleled" but added "we indispensable beryllium prepared for each scenario." In his archetypal comments, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said "we person intercepted, we person contained. Together we shall win."

But Israel's allies successful the West urged the state to enactment to de-escalate the crisis, alternatively than respond successful a mode which could extremity the concern into unfastened warfare.

US President Joe Biden spoke by telephone with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, and made wide that the US would not enactment successful immoderate violative operations against Iran, a elder White House medication authoritative told CNN.

Biden told Netanyahu helium should see the events of Saturday nighttime a "win" arsenic Iran's attacks had been mostly unsuccessful, and alternatively demonstrated Israel's "remarkable capableness to support against and decision adjacent unprecedented attacks."

After a virtual gathering Sunday, leaders of the G7 condemned successful a associated connection the Iranian attack, which it said "risks provoking an uncontrollable determination escalation."

"We request that Iran and its proxies cease their attacks, and we basal acceptable to instrumentality further measures present and successful effect to further destabilizing initiatives," they said.

What happens next?

The decisions made by Israel's War Cabinet volition dictate the contiguous adjacent steps.

One of the members, Benny Gantz said Israel volition "exact a terms from Iran successful a mode and clip that suits us."

Israeli authorities hardliners person called for steadfast action. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich urged a effect that "resonates passim the Middle East," and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir said Israel should "go crazy."

An hours-long warfare furniture gathering connected Sunday ended without a determination connected however Israel volition respond, according to an Israeli official.

The warfare furniture is determined to respond but has yet to determine connected the timing and scope, the authoritative said. One of the cardinal dilemmas facing the furniture is determining however rapidly Israel should respond. The authoritative said the Israeli subject has been tasked with coming up with further options for a response.

Israel told the United States that it's not "looking for a important escalation with Iran," a elder Biden medication told reporters Sunday.

"They're looking to support themselves and support themselves," the authoritative said.

On Sunday, Iran said a "new equation" successful its adversarial narration with Israel had been opened, and warned of a "much bigger" battle connected the state should Netanyahu determine connected a tit-for-tat attack.

"We person decided to make a caller equation, which is that if from present connected the Zionist authorities attacks our interests, assets, personalities, and citizens, anywhere, and astatine immoderate point, we volition retaliate against them," the Commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Hossein Salami told Iranian authorities TV. The "Zionist regime" is simply a word Iran uses to notation to Israel.

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