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US Launches Cruise Missile Strike on Syria

On President Donald Trump's order, two Navy destroyers in the eastern Mediterranean Sea fired salvos of Tomahawk cruise missiles at a Syrian airfield that U.S. intelligence cited as the source of the deadly chemical attack on civilians earlier this week.

The destroyers Ross and Porter together around 4:40 a.m. Friday local time fired 59 BGM-109 Tomahawk missiles, each with 1,000-pound conventional warheads and costing about $1 million, at the Shayrat base north of Damascus. The attack was quick, lasting only a couple of minutes.

"The intent was to deter the regime from doing this again," said Navy Capt. Jeff Davis, a Pentagon spokesman, referring to the suspected nerve agent attack by a Syrian air force warplane on Tuesday against the town of Khan Sheikhoun in northwestern Syria's Idlib governorate.

Human rights and aid groups charged that more than 70 were killed and hundreds injured in the attack allegedly ordered by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Photos and videos of the alleged Sarin gas attack circulated on social media.

Of the Shayrat airbase targeted in the U.S. strike, Davis said, "This was a place prior to 2013 that was one of their main chemical weapons storage sites -- a lot of those sites were dismantled at the time as they were seeking to comply, but they were obviously using it again."

The cruise missile strike marked the first U.S. military action against the Assad regime, which has been supported by Russia.

"Assad choked out the lives of helpless men, women and children ... No child of God should ever suffer such horror," Trump said in a statement. "Tonight, I ordered a targeted military strike in Syria from where the chemical attack was launched. It is in this vital national security interest of the United States to prevent and deter the spread and use of deadly chemical weapons."

The president added that the U.S. had no choice since years of "previous attempts at changing Assad's behavior have all … failed very dramatically."

Davis said Russian personnel at the Shayrat airfield were warned several times before the strikes began at 8:40 p.m. Eastern time and lasted only a few minutes. The barrage of cruise missiles also was aimed to avoid an area where Russian personnel were based, he said.

"There were multiple conversations with the Russians" before the missiles were launched through a communications channel set up by the U.S. military and the Russian Defense Ministry in Latakia to avoid air mishaps, Davis said. No direct contacts were made to Moscow, he said.

The Tomahawk Land Attack Missiles, or TLAMs, targeted Syrian aircraft, hardened shelters, fuel and logistics depots, ammunition storage bunkers and air defense radars, Davis said. A detailed bomb damage assessment was underway but the spokesman said the initial estimate was that the strikes "severely damaged Syrian aircraft."

Davis could give no estimate on possible Syrian or Russian casualties from the strikes, but said the targeting sought to avoid personnel and no Russians were believed to be killed in the attack. Russian troops had reportedly served at the location in the past.

Syria said six people were killed in the strike, according to CNN.

Davis declined to disclose the surveillance techniques the U.S. employed to determine the that Shayrat airfield was the source of the chemical attack, but he said that U.S. intelligence tracked the Syrian warplane, believed to be a Sukhoi-22 "Fitter," a Soviet-era fighter-bomber that dropped the munitions containing the deadly agents.

Trump, who was meeting Thursday with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the U.S. president's estate in Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, gave the order after a briefing earlier in the day with Defense Secretary James Mattis and National Security Adviser Army Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster.

Presented with several military options, Trump indicated that he was about to authorize action that could mire the U.S. even deeper in the endless conflicts of the Mideast.

"I don't want to say what I'm going to be doing with respect to Syria," the president said aboard Air Force One on his way to Florida. Yet he singled out Assad for blame in Tuesday's attack.

"What Assad did is terrible. What happened in Syria is truly one of the egregious crimes and it shouldn't have happened and it shouldn't be allowed to happen," the president said. "I think what happened in Syria is a disgrace to humanity, and he's there, and I guess he's running things, so I guess something should happen."

There was no immediate response to the U.S. action by Russian President Vladimir Putin, whose forces have propped up the Assad regime since 2014, when Moscow's troops and warplanes entered Syria. Russian officials had called on Trump to exercise patience.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov warned Thursday against "snap judgments" on what happened in Idlib.

"It's indeed a very menacing course of events, a dangerous and horrible crime," he said of the chemical attack. "However, sticking labels on everyone, prematurely, is not a correct thing to do, in our opinion."

The Russian Foreign Ministry added that it was "premature to accuse the Syrian government of using chemical weapons in Idlib."

Both Moscow and Damascus have made similar arguments that the release of the suspected nerve agent may have been caused by an airstrike that hit a munitions depot where rebel groups were storing chemicals.

Trump was already being pressed by senior Republicans to take military action.

Sen. John McCain, an Arizona Republican and chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, and Sen. Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican and member of the panel, said the U.S. and its partners should ground Assad's warplanes, though any attack on Syrian airfields would also risk hitting Russian aircraft and crews.

"The U.S. military, together with our allies and partners, has the capability to achieve this objective quickly, precisely, decisively, and in ways that control escalation," McCain said in a statement. He did not elaborate on the method of attack.

In 2013, following a sarin gas attack in the Damascus suburbs that allegedly killed more than 1,500, the U.S. posted destroyers and submarines to the eastern Mediterranean with the potential mission to fire Tomahawk cruise missiles to crater Syrian airfields and eliminate air defenses, but the attack order never came from the Obama administration.

The strikes in Syria were the second military action personally authorized by Trump since his inauguration. In January, he signed off on the Special Operations raid in Yemen in which Senior Chief Petty Officer William "Ryan" Owens, a member of Navy SEAL Team 6, was killed, several other members of the raid team were wounded, and a $70 million MV-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft had to be destroyed.

The latest U.S. action marks a new chapter in the six-year-old Syrian civil war which has killed more than 400,000, displaced 10 million and sent streams of desperate refugees to Europe where their presence has sparked political turmoil.

U.S. policy had been that military action in Syria and in Iraq was limited to the fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, or ISIS, and the Obama administration maintained that position when Putin ordered his forces into Syria in 2014 as Assad's downfall seemed imminent.

The Trump administration last week signaled a major shift in the long-standing policy of the Obama administration that Assad had to step down eventually as part of any peace settlement. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said that the U.S. was taking a more neutral position. Assad's fate should be decided by the Syrian people, he said.

Tillerson appeared to reverse course Thursday, saying that Assad should have "no role" in Syria's future and adding that the suspected nerve agent attack deserved a "serious response" by the U.S. and its allies.

"We are considering an appropriate response for this chemical weapons attack," Tillerson said at Trump's Florida estate, where he was joining Trump for talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping. "A serious matter requires a serious response."

The strikes followed a round of top-level consultations involving White House officials, including Mattis and Joint Chiefs Chairman Joseph Dunford on various military options to punish Assad while avoiding a wider conflict with Russia, whose forces are closely integrated those of the regime. Mattis was with Trump at Mar-a-Lago Thursday when he made the decision.

The stage for the strikes was set on Wednesday in the White House Rose Garden where Trump, at a joint news conference with Jordan's King Abdullah, lashed out at Assad for the chemical attack and strongly suggested that he was considering retaliation.

The scenes from northwestern Syria of the dead and writhing victims struggling to breathe "crossed a lot of lines for me," said Trump in series of remarks that appeared to make it difficult him not to act without losing face.

In Turkey, where many of the victims were taken for treatment, the Turkish Health Ministry said in a statement Thursday that the chemical used in the attacks was the deadly and banned nerve agent sarin.

"According to the results of preliminary tests, patients were exposed to chemical material (Sarin)," the statement said.

White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer indicated that the strikes could be the first step in an overall U.S. plan to set up so-called "safe zones" in northern Syria for refugees that would be policed and defended by U.S. troops. Trump often spoke favorably of the safe zone concept during the election campaign.

Spicer said Trump's top priority was the security of the American people but "that doesn't mean we can't support efforts like safe zones throughout Syria."

The Obama administration prepared plans to strike Syrian targets with sea-launched cruise missiles after an August 2013 Syrian chemical weapons attack that killed more than 1,400 civilians, including hundreds of children.

Those plans were shelved when Mr. Obama decided instead to negotiate an agreement with the Russians to eliminate Syria's declared chemical weapons arsenal and the equipment to make poison gas. The chemical agents were destroyed at sea but rebel groups charged that Assad retained secret stockpiles.

Since then, human rights groups have charged that the Syrian regime has launched several attacks with chlorine gas.

Trump's decision to launch the strikes marked a "significant shift in policy" that will alter the course of U.S. involvement and commitment to the region in ways that are not immediately clear, a defense official told Military.com at the Pentagon.

"Think about what changes here," the official said. "The policy thus far has been to look at ISIS," said the official, who spoke on grounds of anonymity. Now, the U.S., leader of the anti-ISIS coalition, would be in conflict with the terror group and the Assad regime. "Your resources are now split," the official said. "You're potentially at war with Syria."

The troubling question now was how Assad -- and Putin -- respond to the U.S. offensive and change in policy, the official said. He asked: "How would you make this a limited strike – all while fighting ISIS? What would the Russians response be?"

Tillerson was expected to meet in Moscow next week with Putin on a previously arranged visit that will now have Syria high on the agenda.

The talks will come as Trump's high hopes, often expressed during the campaign, for a new and more cooperative relationship with Putin appeared to have been dashed by charges of Russian meddling in the U.S. 2016 elections and congressional investigations of possible collusion between Trump associates and Moscow.

The Force Management Levels, or limits, on U.S. military personnel set by the Obama administration currently stand at 503 for Syria and 5,262 Iraq. However, those numbers do not include troops on so-called "temporary assignment."

Currently in Syria, a small contingent of Army Rangers and Stryker combat vehicles is in the northeastern town of Manbij temporarily to discourage any attempt to take the town by a combined Syrian and Russian force on the outskirts. In addition, about 200 Marines from the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit, also on temporary assignment, are near the ISIS stronghold of Raqqa to set up a firing base for M777 howitzers.

In Iraq, about 200 troops from the Army's 82nd Airborne Division recently were sent to northeastern Iraq to support the train, advise and assist mission of U.S. troops with the Iraqi Security Forces battling to retake Mosul.

In fielding questions Thursday on the possible repercussions for U.S. troops on the ground in Syria, a U.S. military spokesman said that the troops have ready access to chemical weapons protective suits but were not wearing them as a precaution following the suspected Syrian air force nerve gas attack.

"All forces have access to chemical gear" in Syria and in Iraq, Army Col. Joseph Scrocca said but "None of our forces currently are wearing them."

Scrocca, a spokesman for Combined Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve, declined comment on the alleged Syrian attack or a possible U.S. response. He said U. S. troops in Syria and Iraq were focused on the fight against ISIS but "our forces across Iraq and Syria are prepared to defend themselves" should they come under fire.

When asked if the U.S. cruise missile strike into Syria would be limited in nature, Davis, the Pentagon spokesman, said, "we hope so."

-- Richard Sisk can be reached at [email protected] .

-- Oriana Pawlyk can be reached at [email protected] .

Related video:

The U.S. military launched a total of 59 Tomahawk cruise missiles from two naval destroyers in the eastern Mediterranean Sea around 4:40 a.m. local time on April 7, 2017.

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What to Know About the U.S. Missile Attack on Syria

T he U.S. fired dozens of cruise missiles at a Syrian airbase Thursday , the first direct assault by American forces against the government of Syrian President Bashar Assad. The attack, ordered by President Donald Trump , was prompted by a deadly chemical attack in northwestern Syria earlier this week that Washington has blamed on Assad.

Here’s what you need to know:

What happened?

A total of 59 Tomahawk missiles were launched by American forces targeting the Shayrat air base in Homs, western Syria, according to a Pentagon spokesperson . The strike was launched from two navy destroyers positioned in the Mediterranean Sea. The Pentagon said the strike targeted aircraft, aircraft shelters, petroleum, ammunition supply bunkers, air defense systems and radars, and that the U.S. took precaution to avoid civilian casualties.

The Pentagon said Russian forces, which also operate in the Shayrat airfield, were notified in advance of the strike, which the Kremlin later confirmed. The Syrian military said at least seven people were killed and nine wounded, the Associated Press reports, and the assault caused extensive damage.

The Russian military said on Friday morning that only 23 of the 59 missiles had reached the air base and that only six Syrian jets had been destroyed. The runway, Russia said, was still intact. However, a U.S. official said all but one of the 59 missiles struck their targets.

Trump spoke to reporters shortly after the attack, referring to the operation as a “vital national security interest” and calling on other nations to“end the slaughter and bloodshed in Syria.”

Why were the missiles launched?

The U.S. assault came in response to a deadly chemical attack earlier this week in the Syrian town of Khan Sheikhoun, in the country’s northwestern Idlib province. At least 72 people were killed, including many children, making it the deadliest such attack in years in the war-torn country.

The U.S. intelligence community had determined the attack was carried out by aircraft that had departed from the Shayrat airfield, according to the Pentagon spokesperson. U.S. officials said they believe a chemical nerve agent was used, and autopsies carried out by health officials in Turkey , where nearly 60 victims sought treatment, concluded that the agent was likely sarin , a banned substance considered a weapon of mass destruction.

The United Nations and Western leaders have blamed the attack on the Syrian government, which has denied using chemical weapons against its own citizens. Russia, a Syrian ally, has also denied the government was responsible, saying the deadly chemical exposure was caused by a rebel-owned arsenal that was struck during airstrikes by Syrian forces. That claim has been widely dismissed by world leaders.

The gruesome chemical attack caused immediate international outrage. “I think what happened in Syria is a disgrace to humanity,” Trump said during a news conference Wednesday. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson suggested, in a sudden shift of U.S. attitudes toward Assad, that “it would seem there would be no role for him to govern the Syrian people.”

How did Syria respond?

Assad’s office has called the U.S. missile strike “reckless,” “shortsighted” and “irresponsible.” It released a statement saying the dawn attack reflects a continuation of American policy based on targeting and “subjugating people.” It added that the strike was not based on true facts.

A report on Syrian state television earlier Friday referred to the missile attack as an act of “aggression” that undermined Damascus’ efforts to fight terrorism, the AP reprots. Citing an unnamed military official, the report said the Syrian military confirmed that the attack had caused material damage at the airbase, but did not elaborate on the degree of the destruction. State television said the attack “leads to losses,” but thus far offered little further detail.

Homs Governor Talal Barazi responded by claiming that the U.S. strikes were meant to “support the terrorists on the ground,” the AP reports. General Ali Ayyoub, the Syrian army’s chief of General Staff, suggested that Washington attacked hastily without full knowledge of what happened in Khan Sheikhoun. The General said the U.S. was using the chemical attack as a “pretext” for “blatant aggression,” according to the AP.

The Syrian Coalition, an opposition group, welcomed the U.S. strike. The group said the move marked a step toward ending the impunity of the Assad regime and that more decisive actions should follow, according the AP.

How did Russia respond?

Russian President Vladimir Putin held a security council meeting to discuss the country’s response, according to The Guardian . “The participants expressed deep concern at the inevitable negative consequences of these aggressive actions for the joint efforts to fight terrorism,” Dmitry Peskov, a spokesperson for Putin, said.

The Kremlin also issued a blunt statement of condemnation referring to the strike as “aggression against a sovereign state in violation of international law.” Peskov warned that “Washington has struck a significant blow to Russian-American relations , which were already in a sorry state.”

Peskov noted that the U.S. had ignored other reported uses of chemical weapons by the Assad regime, and claimed stockpiles had been destroyed in 2013. Russia also said it would suspend an agreement with the U.S. to prevent incidents in Syrian air space.

What are U.S. and other world leaders saying?

Many U.S. and world leaders agreed that Syria’s chemical attack warranted a stern response, and the strike has thus far been met with broad support. U.S. Senators John McCain and Lindsey Graham , both Republicans, backed the decision in a public statement, saying that the strike “sent an important message the United States will no longer stand idly by as Assad, aided and abetted by Putin’s Russia, slaughters innocent Syrians with chemical weapons and barrel bombs.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement Friday that he “fully supports” Trump’s decision. Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said his government “strongly supports the swift and just response” of the Trump administration, calling the attack “calibrated, proportionate and targeted.”

But a number of leading U.S. Democrats, including Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Tim Kaine , said that while the Syrian regime must be held accountable, any expansion of military intervention should be approved by Congress. Former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton has also suggested that targeting Syria’s air power would be an appropriate deterrent to Assad’s aggression toward his own people. In an interview aired shortly before Trump’s announcement, Clinton said: “I really believe that we should have and still should take out his air fields and prevent him from being able to use them to bomb innocent people and drop sarin gas on them.”

The 15 members of the United Nations Security Council are set to meet at 11.30 am eastern time, to discuss the strike. The meeting of the 15-member council will be public, according to Reuters .

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The United States has just intentionally bombed a Syrian regime target for the first time since the country’s civil war began in 2011. So far, it has been a limited cruise missile strike targeting one Syrian airbase, causing an as-yet-unknown number of casualties.

"Dozens of Tomahawks were launched against a single Syrian regime airfield,” a Department of Defense official told Vox.

The decision to attack was a direct reaction to the Syrian regime’s Tuesday gas attack that claimed 85 lives, including about two dozen children. Images of the Syrians who suffocated to death seemed to shock President Trump, who spoke Wednesday of the “beautiful little babies” killed in the attack, which he described as “an affront to humanity.”

Trump went even further Thursday, telling reporters that “something should happen” to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad because of his responsibility for the attack. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, meanwhile, said Assad would have “no role” governing Syria in the future and that “steps are underway” for a US-led international push to remove him.

If you think all of that sounds like the polar opposite of what you’ve been hearing from the Trump administration until just a few days ago, you’d be right. Take US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley, who said in March that “our priority is no longer to sit there and focus on getting Assad out.” Or take Tillerson himself, who said in late March that “the longer-term status of President Assad will be decided by the Syrian people.”

All of that has changed — rapidly. The president who campaigned on an “America first” platform of keeping the US out of conflicts that don’t directly impact core US national security interests has now intervened in Syria’s intractable civil war. The president who has talked of building closer ties to Vladimir Putin has bombed the Arab dictator Putin has spent years propping up. And the president who was silent just days ago about Assad’s future is now clearly saying the dictator needs to go.

How we got here

Let’s rewind the tape back to Monday, when reports first began to circulate of a gas attack by the Syrian regime on the rebel-held town of Khan Sheikhoun that killed at least 85 people — including 16 women and 23 children — and wounded more than 350. Videos and photos taken by activists and medics on the scene showed victims choking and fainting, some with foam coming out of their mouths. (Assad’s forces later bombed the medical clinic where many survivors were being treated.)

On Tuesday, with the dead still being counted, White House press secretary Sean Spicer said that the US would look “rather silly not acknowledging the political realities that exist in Syria,” where Assad’s hold on power has been getting stronger by the day — in large part due to Russian military support.

Trump’s own initial comments focused more on his predecessor’s past handling of Syria than on Assad’s possible role in the country’s future. In a written statement, Trump said Assad’s “heinous actions” were a “consequence of the past administration's weakness and irresolution. President Obama said in 2012 that he would establish a 'red line' against the use of chemical weapons and then did nothing.”

There were two notable things about the statement. The first was how politically petty and tone-deaf it was for Trump to bash Obama in the same breath as Assad. The second was that it didn’t say Assad needed to give up power — or that the US was willing to do much of anything to bring that about.

By Wednesday, Trump was singing a different tune. He said Assad’s gas attack “had a big impact on me,” and that “it’s very possible … that my attitude toward Syria and Assad has changed.”

"It crossed a lot of lines for me," Trump told reporters at the White House. "When you kill innocent children, innocent babies, babies, little babies, with a chemical gas that is so lethal, people were shocked to hear what gas it was, that crosses many, many lines, beyond a red line. Many, many lines."

This paired well with tough talk from Haley, who gave an impassioned speech at the UN that same day in which she held up photos of children killed in the gas attack and asked, "How many more children have to die before Russia cares?” — a clear dig at Putin, Assad’s primary overseas backer (and an autocrat whom Trump openly admires).

That set the stage for Thursday, when Trump talked tough on Assad and avoided making another gratuitous dig at his predecessor. Tillerson — without saying so explicitly — implied that the administration would for now basically maintain Obama’s Syria policy, which was predicated on Assad eventually relinquishing power after internationally led diplomatic talks.

For good measure, the secretary of state directed Russia to "consider carefully" its continued support for Assad's government. That’s highly unlikely. Although Putin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday that their support for Assad wasn’t “unconditional,” Moscow has said this many times before, and its support has so far remained just that — unconditional.

Trump’s decision to bomb the Assad regime because of its use of chemical weapons is new. This isn’t the Trump of the recent past.

Yet Trump fashions himself a tough guy, one willing to go where his predecessor would not. So far, this means sending US cruise missiles into Syria. This isn’t the America-first stance of Trump’s campaign; it’s the start of something new and uncharted, one that could potentially escalate to a broader US war against Assad.

This is a momentous moment for the United States and Syria. And we have no idea, as of right now, where it will lead.

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Russia sends warplanes to Syria for huge naval drills in Med

In this photo taken from video provided by the Russian Defense Ministry Press Service on Tuesday, Feb. 15, 2022, An MiG-31 fighter of the Russian air force carrying a Kinzhal hypersonic cruise missile is parked at the Hemeimeem air base in Syria. The Russian military deployed additional warplanes to its air base in Syria as part of massive naval drills in the Mediterranean. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP)

In this photo taken from video provided by the Russian Defense Ministry Press Service on Tuesday, Feb. 15, 2022, A Tu-22M3 bomber of the Russian air forces is seen parked at the Hemeimeem air base in Syria. The Russian military deployed additional warplanes to its air base in Syria as part of massive naval drills in the Mediterranean. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP)

In this photo taken from video provided by the Russian Defense Ministry Press Service on Tuesday, Feb. 15, 2022, Russian Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu , center, speaks to one of officers near an MiG-31 fighter of the Russian air force carrying a Kinzhal hypersonic cruise missile parked at the Hemeimeem air base in Syria. The Russian military deployed additional warplanes to its air base in Syria as part of massive naval drills in the Mediterranean. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP)

In this photo released by the Syrian official news agency SANA, shows Syrian President Bashar Assad, right, meets with Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, in Damascus, Syria, Tuesday, Feb. 15, 2022. Shoigu is in Syria to oversee Russian naval drills in the Mediterranean. Shoigu met with Assad Tuesday and both officials spoke about cooperation between the two armies and how Russia will help Damascus spread its authority all over the war-torn country, according to Syrian state media. (SANA via AP)

In this photo released by the Syrian official news agency SANA, shows Syrian President Bashar Assad, right, meets with Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, second right, in Damascus, Syria, Tuesday, Feb. 15, 2022. Shoigu met with Assad Tuesday and both officials spoke about cooperation between the two armies and how Russia will help Damascus spread its authority all over the war-torn country, according to Syrian state media. (SANA via AP)

In this photo taken from video provided by the Russian Defense Ministry Press Service on Tuesday, Feb. 15, 2022, Russian Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu , left, speaks to a group of hight rang officers as a Tu-22M3 bomber of the Russian air forces is seen parked at the Hemeimeem air base in Syria. The Russian military deployed additional warplanes to its air base in Syria as part of massive naval drills in the Mediterranean. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP)

In this photo taken from video provided by the Russian Defense Ministry Press Service on Tuesday, Feb. 15, 2022, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, center, and other hight rank officers, all back to a camera, stand near a MiG-31 fighter of the Russian air force carrying a Kinzhal hypersonic cruise missile parked at the Hemeimeem air base in Syria. The Russian military deployed additional warplanes to its air base in Syria as part of massive naval drills in the Mediterranean. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP)

In this photo taken from video provided by the Russian Defense Ministry Press Service on Tuesday, Feb. 15, 2022, A Tu-22M3 bomber of the Russian air forces lands at the Hemeimeem air base in Syria. The Russian military deployed additional warplanes to its air base in Syria as part of massive naval drills in the Mediterranean. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP)

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MOSCOW (AP) — The Russian military on Tuesday deployed long-range nuclear-capable bombers and fighter jets carrying state-of-the-art hypersonic missiles to its air base in Syria for massive naval drills in the region amid soaring tensions with the West over Ukraine.

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu arrived in Syria to oversee the drills that mark the biggest Russian naval deployment to the Mediterranean Sea since the Cold War times. Shoigu met with Syrian President Bashar Assad on Tuesday to inform him about the drills and discuss plans for further military-technical cooperation.

The Defense Ministry said the exercise in the eastern Mediterranean that involves 15 warships and about 30 aircraft is part of a series of sweeping naval drills that started last month amid a standoff over Ukraine. It said the maneuvers were intended to train for action to “protect national interests” and “fend off military threats against the Russian Federation.”

Long-range, nuclear-capable Tu-22M3 bombers and MiG-31 fighter jets carrying the latest Kinzhal hypersonic cruise missiles landed at the Russian air base of Hemeimeem in Syria’s coastal province of Latakia as part of the drills. The military says the Kinzhal has a range of up to 2,000 kilometers (about 1,250 miles) and flies at 10 times the speed of sound, making it hard to intercept.

The deployment of Kinzhal missiles to Syria appears to be intended to showcase the Russian military’s capability to threaten the U.S. carrier strike group in the Mediterranean.

The Defense Ministry said the Russian navy chief reported to Shoigu that the drills envisaged practice in targeting enemy warships.

The Hemeimeem air base has served as Russia’s main outpost in Syria, where it has waged a military campaign in Syria since September 2015, allowing Assad’s government to reclaim control over most of the country after a devastating civil war.

Russia also has expanded and modified a naval base in the Syrian port of Tartus, the only such facility that Russia has outside the former Soviet Union.

The massive Russian naval drills and the deployment of additional warplanes to Syria demonstrated an increased Russian military foothold in the region amid the worst Russia-West security crisis since the Cold War.

U.S. officials say Russia has amassed over 130,000 troops near Ukraine and warned that an invasion could come at any moment.

Moscow has denied any plans to invade its neighbor, but demanded that the West provide guarantees that NATO will not allow Ukraine and other ex-Soviet nations to join, will not station weapons there and will roll back alliance deployments in Eastern Europe. The U.S. and its allies have roundly rejected those demands but have offered to discuss with Moscow ways to increase security in Europe.

Follow all AP stories about tensions over Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine.

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Israel’s air defenses have hugely improved since it last came under attack by ballistic missiles.

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Israeli soldiers walk near an Israeli Irone Dome defence system (L), a surface-to-air missile (SAM) ... [+] system, the MIM-104 Patriot (C), and an anti-ballistic missile the Arrow 3 (R) during Juniper Cobra's joint exercise press briefing at Hatzor Israeli Air Force Base in central Israel, on February 25, 2016. Juniper Cobra, is held every two years where Israel and the United States train their militaries together to prepare against possible ballistic missile attacks, as well as allowing the armies to learn to better work together. / AFP / GIL COHEN-MAGEN (Photo credit should read GIL COHEN-MAGEN/AFP via Getty Images)

As Israelis brace for a possible Iranian retaliation to the Apr. 1 assassination of a senior Iranian general in Syria, it’s worth exploring how the country’s multilayered air defenses have improved since it last came under attack from ballistic missiles in 1991. It’s also worth evaluating how Iran’s ballistic missile arsenal has also expanded and become much more sophisticated than Iraq’s ever was.

In an unclaimed airstrike on Apr. 1, Israel killed Mohammad Reza Zahedi, a brigadier general in the country’s powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps’ extraterritorial Quds Force, and six other officers during a meeting in the Iranian embassy compound in Damascus. Zahedi was the most senior Iranian military official assassinated since the U.S. killed Qassem Soleimani in a Baghdad drone strike in January 2020.

Iran vowed revenge, arguing that the attack on the embassy constituted an attack on Iranian territory. U.S. President Joe Biden expects an Iranian attack on Israel “sooner rather than later” and Washington believes Iran will attack Israel directly .

Analysts also believe Iran could respond with a direct attack on Israel rather than through regional proxies. If it does so, it might use some of its longer-range ballistic missiles. Numbering over 3,000 , Iran has the largest arsenal of these missiles in the Middle East.

Israeli media estimates that while cruise missiles and drones launched from Iranian territory would take two and nine hours, respectively, to reach Israel, ballistic missiles would only take 12 minutes.

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Furthermore, Iranian proxies have already targeted Israel with drones and cruise missiles from Syria and Iraq , so such attacks would not have the same impact following the Zahedi assassination and Tehran’s vows to avenge it directly.

(It’s also conceivable Iran might decide to launch a ballistic missile attack directly against Israel from Syria. Tehran might calculate an Israeli retaliation wouldn’t ignite a wider regional war or result in an all-out war between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon, Iran’s most powerful and valuable proxy.)

Since Israel last came under a significant attack by ballistic missiles in 1991, its air defenses and counterstrike capabilities have both hugely improved. Iran’s missiles today have greater accuracy, longer ranges, and larger payloads than Iraq’s at that time.

In the 1991 Persian Gulf War, Saddam Hussein’s Iraq launched 43 Scud missiles in 18 barrages at major Israeli cities, including Tel Aviv, over 39 days. Israelis at the time stocked up on gas masks, fearing Saddam’s missiles could have had poison gas. Ultimately, Saddam never used chemicals in that war and killed 13 Israelis in the conventional strikes.

The United States, which feared an Israeli retaliation could have compelled the Arab states in the multinational coalition Washington had formed to confront Iraq to withdraw, tried to reassure Israel by deploying Patriot missiles to bolster its air defenses. However, those earlier Patriot models proved largely ineffective against the Iraqi Scuds .

Today’s Patriot systems are much more capable of intercepting ballistic missiles, as the Ukraine war has dramatically demonstrated.

Furthermore, while the Arrow missile that covers the top tier of Israel’s air defense network was only in development in 1991. Israel now has the Arrow-2 and Arrow-3 in service. The latter made its combat debut on Nov. 9 when it intercepted a Houthi missile in what was described as the first time “the world had ever seen a battle fought in space.”

Israel also has its domestically-built mid-range David’s Sling system, which successfully intercepted rockets from Gaza for the first time in May 2023 , and the well-known, short-range Iron Dome, which has been extensively used to intercept rockets launched from Gaza and Lebanon.

Israel’s missile strike capabilities have also undoubtedly improved significantly since 1991. During the Gulf War, Washington had suggested to Israel that if it felt utterly compelled to retaliate to the Iraqi attacks, it could do so using its Jericho ballistic missiles against targets in Iraq. However, unbeknownst to the United States, Israel’s Jericho missiles were not fully operational when the war began, meaning Israel completely lacked any “ready option for an unmanned strike against Baghdad.”

That’s certainly not the case today. Israel’s Jericho-3 is estimated to have a range of 3,000 miles, meaning Israel could respond to an Iranian ballistic missile attack in kind. Furthermore, the Israeli Navy’s German-made Dolphin submarines are capable of launching cruise missiles, which means Israel even has a second-strike capability.

If Iran does attack Israel with ballistic missiles, many won’t make it to their targets, given the advanced Israeli interceptors they will have to evade or overwhelm. Some undoubtedly will, depending on the size of the barrages Tehran launches.

Furthermore, any Iranian barrage probably won’t be largely indiscriminate and aimed at urban areas like the Iraqi one. Iran simulated a missile attack against a replica of the Israeli Palmahim Air Base it constructed in the Iranian desert in February, with Iranian state media saying it replicated that particular base since it was the “main location” for Israel’s fifth-generation F-35 stealth jets. A month earlier, a conservative Iranian newspaper suggested Iran and its proxies should focus on targeting Israeli airbases that host F-35s. Facilities like these could well be targeted.

Whatever ultimately happens in the coming days and weeks, it’s already abundantly clear that Iran will come up against some of the most sophisticated defensive and offensive weaponry in the world today if it proceeds with a direct attack against its regional archenemy.

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France Had Some Issues Firing Ze Missiles During The Syria Strikes

While U.S. and UK forces pummeled three suspected chemical weapons sites across Syria, the French military reportedly had some issues...

By Jared Keller | Published Apr 18, 2018 10:01 PM EDT

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While U.S. and UK forces pummeled three suspected chemical weapons sites across Syria, the French military reportedly had some issues pulling its weight.

The three naval cruise missiles fired from the French frigate Languedoc were initially intended to come from a different French frigate whose first salvo simply “did not fire,” French Joint Chief of Staff spokesman Col. Patrick Steiger told Defense News.

Steiger stated the cause of the misfire was currently unknown; Navy Recognition notes that the launch constituted the first time that the French military had ever actually fired its new MdCN (or “Missile de Croisiere Naval”) naval cruise missiles.

One of the three FREMM Frigates launching MdCN naval cruise missiles against targets in SyriaFrench Ministry of Defense

The French military currently has three advanced European multi-purpose frigates (FREMM) in its fleet, according to Le Mamouth: the Aquitaine, the Provence, and the Languedoc. It’s unclear whether it was the Aquitaine or Provence that experienced the misfire.

Not that it mattered: France’s remaining contribution of Scalp EG missiles were all deployed from military aircraft. “All the targets were hit,” Steiger told Defense News. “The military effect was obtained.”

Operational screw-ups happen, especially with new and relatively untested equipment. But with all this talk of the U.S. plunging into a global conflict in Syria, we can’t help but think of how the French will respond to the end of the world: by taking a nap and then (maybe) firing ze missiles :

It’s either that or some missile tech aboard a French FREMM hit the “Surrender” button for “Launch” …

Jared Keller is the former managing editor of Task & Purpose. His writing has appeared in Aeon, the Los Angeles Review of Books, the New Republic, Pacific Standard, Smithsonian, and The Washington Post, among other publications. Contact the author here.

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Russian Tu-95MS bombers launch Kh-101 cruise missiles at Syrian targets

A Tupolev Tu-95MS strategic bomber of the Russian Aerospace Forces on a mission to carry out airstrikes against Islamic State and Jabhat al-Nusra (terrorist organizations banned in Russia) targets in Syria

The Russian air force has once again involved strategic aviation in its Syria campaign: On Nov. 17, Tu-95MS missile-carrying bombers took off from the Engels airfield (520 miles east of Moscow) and launched Kh-101 cruise missiles against militant targets on the outskirts of the cities of Idlib and Homs.

Along with the strategic bombers, the mission involved Su-33 carrier fighters from the Admiral Kuznetsov aircraft carrier, with Su-30SM aircraft providing their cover.

According to the Russian Defense Ministry, the air strikes were carried out against ISIS command posts, weapons-making facilities, arms and ammunition depots as well as areas where militants’ hardware was concentrated.

“The coordinates of all the targets were checked and verified via several intelligence channels. The results of the strikes were controlled by unmanned aerial vehicles,” the ministry’s official spokesman Maj-Gen Igor Konashenkov said.

New route for strategic bombers

While previous sorties of Russian strategic bombers proceeded above the Caspian Sea and then over the territory of Iran and Iraq, the route of this mission lay above the northern seas and Eastern Atlantic, while the cruise missiles were launched from the Mediterranean Sea.

In the end, the Tu-95MS aircraft covered a distance of 11,000 kilometers (6,800 miles) with two mid-air refuelings.

According to the head of the Kulon group of companies, Pavel Bulat, the decision to more than double the length of the route was deliberate.

“The Aerospace Forces are practicing the capabilities of strategic aviation in the event of a complete closure of airspace. One needs to make sure that one’s pilots can get anyone anywhere,” he said.

However, the military did not specify which route the Tu-95s took on their way back home.

The president of the International Center of Geopolitical Analysis, retired Col-Gen Leonid Ivashov, pointed out that Russia does not have capability to transfer its strategic aviation to Syria without spending extra money on fuel.

“The Khmeimim airbase in Syria, which is currently being used by front-line aviation, is not suited for strategic bombers. Its runway is too short and the necessary infrastructure is missing,” he explained.

Why involve strategic aviation?

According to Pavel Bulat, the latest combat sortie had the task of carrying out a simultaneous strike against all the detected militant targets.

“It is for tasks like these that strategic aviation is used. There is a military term for it – a massive aerial attack,” he said. This causes disorganization in the enemy ranks and gives a considerable advantage to ground troops, Bulat explained.

“’Spare’ bombs are used to hit transport communications, thus isolating combat areas. Take, for instance, sorties made by Russian front-line bombers to destroy ISIS oil refineries and convoys of oil tank trucks moving towards Turkish territory,” he added.

Kh-101 missile

The Tu-95MS is one of Russia’s main strategic bombers capable of firing the newest Kh-101 cruise missiles.

“It is a subsonic cruise missile with a range of up to 5,000 kilometers [3,100 miles]. It can be launched from an altitude of up to 10,000 kilometers. Its warhead weighs some 400 kilograms [900 lbs],” a defense industry source told RBTH.

According to the source, Russia also has a nuclear-enabled version of this missile, known as Kh-102.

“One equivalent of our Kh-101 missile is the U.S. long-range missile AGM-129. Just like the Russian missile, it has a GPS satellite and an inertial navigation system,” the source added.

New   fire   adjustment   systems

According to the RBTH source, Su-33 fighter aircraft have been provided with a new, high-precision sighting system, the SVP-24, for unguided missiles.

The new system makes it possible to dramatically improve the precision of air strikes and to avoid possible casualties among the civilian population.

The system adjusts the missile’s trajectory based on the fighter’s position and parameters of the flight. As a result, deviation from the target does not exceed several meters. At the same time, the SVP-24 takes up just a couple of additional blocks in the aircraft’s equipment.

Read more: Russia prepares to strike Aleppo as world focuses on U.S. elections>>>

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Why did Iran attack Israel? What to know about the strikes, U.S. response.

Iran launched a wave of missiles and drones toward Israel late Saturday as regional tensions continued to mount over the war in Gaza . President Biden condemned the attack and spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to reiterate the United States’ “ironclad” commitment to Israeli security, the White House said. Other allies including Germany, Canada, France and Britain reaffirmed their support for Israel in the wake of the attack while expressing fears that Tehran’s assault could further destabilize the Middle East.

Iranian state media said the missile and drone assault was in retaliation for a deadly Israeli strike on an Iranian diplomatic compound in Syria on April 1.

What happened

• More than 300 drones, cruise missiles and ballistic missiles were launched by Iran in the first full-scale military attack on Israel by Tehran. Around 99 percent of the projectiles were intercepted, according to Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, the Israel Defense Forces spokesman.
• Some of the projectiles fell inside Israeli territory, and one damaged a military base in the country’s south, Hagari said. A young girl who was seriously injured in the attack underwent surgery and was moved to the pediatric intensive care unit, according to Israel’s Soroka Hospital.
• Hagari said “a coalition” of countries helped Israel with intercepting the projectiles. The U.S. military helped Israel take down “nearly all” of the drones and missiles, Biden said. British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said Britain’s Royal Air Force shot down “a number of Iranian attack drones,” while Jordan’s cabinet said it “dealt with” objects that flew through its airspace overnight. France also contributed technological support, Hagari said.
• Tehran’s attack on Saturday was “four-pronged,” according to a report by the state-run Tasnim News Agency, originating from sites in Iran, Lebanon, Iraq and Yemen. The commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Maj. Gen. Hossein Salami, called Tehran’s attack “more successful than we had expected” and warned that any retaliation by Israel would draw a more forceful response.
• At a United Nations Security Council meeting Sunday, Iran and Israel traded blame over the recent escalation. Iran’s ambassador said the Iranian attack was a “necessary and proportionate” response to an earlier Israeli strike on an Iranian consular building in Syria, while his Israeli counterpart said Iran’s actions “crossed every red line.”

Why did Iran attack Israel?

Iranian media said the attack was in retaliation for an Israeli strike this month on an Iranian consular building in Damascus, Syria, which killed members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps , including senior commander Mohammad Reza Zahedi and Brig. Gen. Mohammad Hadi Haj Rahimi.

Hamas expressed support for Iran’s attack on Israel this weekend, calling it a deserved response to the attack in Syria. Officials from the rebel Houthi group in Yemen congratulated Iran while downplaying their own involvement; Hagari said some UAVs and cruise missiles were launched from Yemen.

Israel has carried out strikes in Syria against Iran and its allies for years and throughout its six-month military campaign against Hamas in Gaza. But the April 1 attack stood out both because of its location — in a diplomatic compound, traditionally exempt from hostilities — and because of the seniority of the apparent targets.

Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, promised that his country would avenge the Damascus attack. U.N. Secretary General António Guterres condemned the strike, citing “the inviolability of diplomatic and consular premises.”

The Israeli strike also frustrated Washington.

Three U.S. officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss security matters said Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and other senior defense officials believed Israel should have informed them ahead of time because of the strike’s implications for U.S. interests in the region, The Washington Post reported.

U.S. officials worry about a multifront war breaking out and feared the Damascus strike could lead to attacks on U.S. military personnel based in Iraq, Syria or other parts of the Middle East.

Middle East conflict

How is the United States involved?

U.S. military forces in the Middle East intercepted “dozens” of Iranian drones and missiles, Austin said in a statement, adding that American military forces remain “postured” to protect U.S. troops and support Israel’s defense. He called on Iran to de-escalate tensions and halt attacks on Israel.

“We do not seek conflict with Iran, but we will not hesitate to act to protect our forces and support the defense of Israel,” the statement said.

Biden, who had directed aircraft and ballistic missile defense destroyers to be sent to the region over the past week in anticipation of an attack, said no U.S. troops or facilities were targeted in the barrage.

“We will remain vigilant to all threats and will not hesitate to take all necessary action to protect our people,” he said.

On Monday, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said that Biden communicated to Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu that the weekend’s defensive actions had been an “extraordinary success,” and urged Netanyahu “to think about what that success says all by itself to the rest of the region” when considering next steps.

What is the recent history between Iran and Israel?

Iran has funded attacks on Israel in the decades before Israel’s war in Gaza that began Oct. 7, and its proxies have stepped up strikes in the months since.

Hezbollah, an Iranian-backed Lebanon-based armed group, has been firing rockets into Israel since the start of the war. Iran also supports Houthi rebels by smuggling weapons to Yemen, allowing the Houthis to prolong a deadly campaign of violence against commercial shipping.

Israel and Iran have been waging a covert war of assassinations and sabotage for years, The Post has reported .

More recently, Iran accused Israel of killing Brig. Gen. Sayyed Razi Mousavi, a senior adviser to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, in a missile strike in Syria in December. Israel declined to comment on this accusation.

Israel’s main focus for attacks in Iran has been the country’s nuclear program, which Israel has tried to undermine for years, The Post reported .

In 2021 Iran blamed Israel for an electrical blackout at Iran’s nuclear facilities, and more than a decade ago when a computer virus targeted Iranian nuclear infrastructure, the malware was suspected to be developed by Israel and the United States.

Kareem Fahim and Suzan Haidamous contributed to this report.

Israel-Gaza war

The Israel-Gaza war has gone on for six months, and tensions have spilled into the surrounding region .

The war: On Oct. 7, Hamas militants launched an unprecedented cross-border attack on Israel that included the taking of civilian hostages at a music festival . (See photos and videos of how the deadly assault unfolded ). Israel declared war on Hamas in response, launching a ground invasion that fueled the biggest displacement in the region since Israel’s creation in 1948 .

Gaza crisis: In the Gaza Strip, Israel has waged one of this century’s most destructive wars , killing tens of thousands and plunging at least half of the population into “ famine-like conditions. ” For months, Israel has resisted pressure from Western allies to allow more humanitarian aid into the enclave .

U.S. involvement: Despite tensions between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and some U.S. politicians , including President Biden, the United States supports Israel with weapons , funds aid packages , and has vetoed or abstained from the United Nations’ cease-fire resolutions.

History: The roots of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and mistrust are deep and complex, predating the establishment of the state of Israel in 1948 . Read more on the history of the Gaza Strip .

• Israel weighs response to Iranian attack April 15, 2024 Israel weighs response to Iranian attack April 15, 2024
• Why did Iran attack Israel? What to know about the strikes, U.S. response. April 15, 2024 Why did Iran attack Israel? What to know about the strikes, U.S. response. April 15, 2024
• Mapping the wide-scale Iranian drone and missile attacks April 14, 2024 Mapping the wide-scale Iranian drone and missile attacks April 14, 2024

US forces shot down over 75 Iranian missiles and drones in its biggest air-defense battle of the Middle East crisis

• Iran launched an unprecedented missile and drone attack on Israel this weekend.
• The IDF said 99% of the 300 or so Iranian munitions were shot down.
• US forces destroyed more than 70 of them, according to American officials.

US forces engaged and shot down more than 75 of the missiles and drones that Iran fired at Israel this weekend, marking its biggest air-defense battle of the six-month-long Middle East crisis.

Iran and its proxy militias launched a barrage of 170 attack drones, 120 ballistic missiles, and 30 cruise missiles at Israel in a massive and unprecedented attack on Saturday night local time, according to the Israel Defense Forces .

It was the first-ever direct attack on Israel from Iranian soil. About 99% of the threats were intercepted by Israel and its partners, the IDF said, and most of them did not even cross into Israeli territory — a remarkable air-defense success.

US forces in the region eliminated more than 70 of the Iranian munitions, a senior US military official told reporters on Sunday.

Two US Navy destroyers operating in the eastern Mediterranean Sea — the USS Arleigh Burke and USS Carney — engaged and destroyed between four and six ballistic missiles, and a Patriot air-defense system shot down one ballistic missile above Iraq, an official said.

A majority of the remaining ballistic missiles were engaged by Israel's Arrow 2 and 3 systems , which make up the top echelon of the country's sophisticated air defense network . A few of the ballistic missiles entered Israeli territory and struck targets, including an IDF base, causing minor damage, the military said.

US fighter jets also shot down more than 70 Iranian one-way attack drones, the American military official said. They would not say how many aircraft were involved in the interceptions.

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President Joe Biden said he directed the US military to move aircraft and ballistic missile defenses to the region over the past week.

"Thanks to these deployments and the extraordinary skill of our service members, we helped Israel take down nearly all of the incoming drones and missiles," he said in a statement .

"Our forces remain postured to protect US troops and partners in the region, provide further support for Israel's defense, and enhance regional stability," Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in a statement after the attack.

Britain's defense minister, Grant Shapps, confirmed that the UK also intercepted multiple drones. None of the drones or cruise missiles launched by Iran crossed into Israeli territory, according to the IDF.

The attack marked the US military's biggest air-defense battle of the ongoing and widespread Middle East crisis, which began with Hamas' October 7 terror attack across southern Israel, sparking an outburst of violence across the region.

Since October, US forces have engaged aerial threats launched by Iran-backed militias above Iraq and Syria, and also the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. The largest of these attacks involved more than 20 drones and missiles carried out by the Yemen-based Houthis earlier this year.

Tehran's attack against Israel, meanwhile, came in retaliation for an Israeli airstrike on an Iranian diplomatic facility in Syria at the start of April. The strike killed several military officials, including two generals in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Following the incident, Iran vowed revenge and telegraphed that it would retaliate against Israel. The Middle East had been on heightened alert over the past two weeks as it braced for a possible response from Tehran, which was unclear in terms of size and scope.

The attack on Saturday was met with resounding international condemnation, with world leaders blasting Iran as "reckless." The leaders of the G7 — which is made up of the US, UK, France, Germany, Canada, Italy, and Japan — said they expressed solidarity with Israel and are committed to the country's security.

"With its actions, Iran has further stepped toward the destabilization of the region and risks provoking an uncontrollable regional escalation," the leaders said in a statement . "This must be avoided."

For now, Israel appears to be calibrating a response to the Iranian attack, although it is unclear at this time what that may look like.

Watch: VIDEO: Iran reports that drones attacked a military factory in Isfahan

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Maps show how US, Israeli weaponry was used against Iran's aerial attack

Israel is weighing its response to an Iranian attack carried out by an estimated 300 drones and missiles Saturday, Iran’s first direct strike against Israel ever and a move that could lead to open warfare between the two nations.

The attack caused relatively minor damage, officials said. About 99% of the Iranian weapons were shot down with the help of the U.S., U.K. and Jordan, according to Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, a spokesman for the Israeli military and a defense force post on Instagram.

The attack is an escalation of the conflict between Israel and Iran and could spark a military escalation that could involve the U.S. and other countries and alter the  Israel-Hamas war  in the  Gaza Strip .

U.S. and European military forces intercepted more than 80 uncrewed one-way attack aerial vehicles and at least six ballistic missiles, the U.S. Central Command said Sunday.

In the Mediterranean Sea, two U.S. guided-missile destroyers, the USS Carney and the USS Arleigh Burke , shot down four to six ballistic missiles , the U.S. Naval Institute reported Sunday.

Unable to view our graphics? Click here to see them.  

F-15E Strike Eagles from two squadrons shot down about 70 attack drones , according to The Washington Post.

Most of the drones and missile were fired from inside Iran. A few penetrated Israeli defenses, seriously injuring a 10-year-old girl with shrapnel and causing minor damage to a military base, Israeli officials said.

Did Israel bomb the Iranian Embassy in Syria?

Iran said it launched the attack in retaliation for an airstrike by Israeli warplanes on the Iranian consulate in Damascus, Syria, on April 1. Iran said seven of its military advisers, including three senior commanders, were killed in the attack. Israel never confirmed it was behind the attack.

Iran said Sunday that it would not retaliate further unless Israel counterattacked.

What weapons did Iran use?

According to Israeli officials, aerial weapons used in the attack included:

• 170 Shahed-136 drones
• 120 ballistic missiles
• 30 cruise missiles

Ballistic missiles are powered by one or more rockets that lift the missile into the atmosphere on an arching trajectory . The rockets then shut down and the unpowered missile descends to its target.

Cruise missiles are powered by jet engines. They can be launched from the ground, air or sea. The missiles can fly very low and are difficult to detect.

Cruise missiles are self-guiding but can be controlled by remote operators with cameras.

How the Iranian attack unfolded

The attack started at about 3:30 p.m Eastern time, according to an analysis by the Institute for the Study of War . It consisted of at least three waves over several hours.

Drones were launched first; ballistic missiles were fired about an hour later so they would strike Israel at about the same time, according to a statement from Iran's Revolutionary Guards Corps that was reported by the BBC.

The Defense Department said U.S. forces from undisclosed bases in the region intercepted dozens of missiles and drones launched from Iran, Iraq, Syria and Yemen.

Military forces from the U.S., U.K., Jordan and Israel began intercepting drones and missiles outside Israeli airspace between 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. Eastern, the war study institute said.

Israeli defense systems helped thwart the attack

Israel's Iron Dome and Arrow 3 systems were credited with shooting down most of the drones and missiles from Iran.

The Iron Dome is a mobile all-weather missile defense system, designed to detect and shoot down short-range rockets fired into Israel. It’s also used against enemy artillery and drones.

How the Iron Dome system works:

Iron Dome can detect and engage rockets up to 40 miles away. Each of its 10 batteries can protect a 58-square-mile area.

It’s a portable system, towed by trucks. The batteries are units with three main elements:

• ELM 2084 Multimission Radar (MMR):  Radar that detects incoming threats from Palestinian territories and Hezbollah-controlled Lebanon.
• Battle management and weapon control system (BMC):  A computer that tracks a rocket’s trajectory and calculates whether it will hit an inhabited area. Rockets presenting the greatest threat are targeted. Rockets that will fall into uninhabited regions are ignored.
• Tamir missiles and launchers:  Each battery has three to four launchers, each with up to 20 Tamirs. The control system launches a missile that will intercept and destroy the incoming rocket.

Work on the Iron Dome began in 2007. It became operational in March 2011 and has been upgraded over the years. Its success rate has  exceeded 90% , says its manufacturer, Raytheon says.

Iron Dome is designed as protection against rockets at low altitudes. It's part of Israel's three-tiered air defense system that includes:

◾   David's Sling :  Defense against short-range ballistic missiles, large-caliber rockets and cruise missiles.

◾ Arrow-3 :  Defense against medium-range ballistic missiles.

Israel also uses U.S. Patriot missiles to defend itself from enemy aircraft and drones.

SOURCE USA TODAY Network reporting and research; Reuters; U.S. Department of Defense; Institute for the Study of War ; Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation; U.S. Naval Institute

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Iran launches hundreds of drones and cruise missiles at Israel in unprecedented attack

Islamic Republic’s first ever direct attack on Jewish state involved more than 300 drones and missiles, and raises the risk of a broader regional conflagration

• Iran launches attack against Israel – live updates
• Iran missile and drone attack on Israel – what we know so far

Iran launched more than 300 drones and missiles at Israel on Saturday night, in the Islamic Republic’s first ever direct attack on the Jewish state, bringing a years-long shadow war into the open and threatening to draw the region into a broader conflagration.

Israel, with the help of key western allies including the US, UK and Jordan, claimed to have intercepted some 99% of the launches during the mass strike, but added that some ballistic missiles had reached Israel, damaging the key Nevatim air base in southern Israel which remained operational.

As the UN security council prepared to convene an emergency session, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said more than 350 missiles were launched during the attack from Iran , Lebanon, Syria and Yemen, and called the interception rate a “significant strategic success”.

Commenting on Israel’s response to the attack, Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, posted on X: “We intercepted, we repelled, together we shall win.”

“The Iranian attack was foiled,” Israeli military spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said in a televised statement adding that no drones or cruise missiles that had entered Israeli territory, and “only a few” ballistic missiles reached Israel.

Although Israel moved to reopen its air space, officials said the incident was not yet over.

As of Sunday morning, Israeli officials indicated no decision had been made about an Israeli response to the Iranian attack, as an official said any potential response would be discussed at the war cabinet meeting.

Israeli war planes, however, were reported to be bombing Hezbollah positions in southern Lebanon.

On the Gaza front of the fast expanding regional war, Netanyahu said Hamas had rejected a ceasefire proposal and that Israel would continue pursue its conflict there with “full force”.

While many of the missiles and drones were brought down outside Israel’s airspace others were intercepted over Israeli territory by the Iron Dome air defence interceptor system, which lit up the night sky with multiple detonations, while air raid sirens sounded in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and other cities.

The roar of Israeli air force jets could be heard across the country in the early hours of Sunday.

Some projectiles penetrated the defensive shield. IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari confirmed a direct hit on an airbase in southern Israel that caused “minor damage to infrastructure” though the base remains fully operational.

One young girl is in emergency care after the attack, he said.

When asked about possible retaliation by Israel, Hagari said: “We have plans, the situation is still ongoing, we are assessing the situation, we are showing the cabinet the plans, and we are ready to do what is necessary for the defence of Israel.”

The New York Times cited Israeli intelligence sources as saying the main targets appeared to be Israeli military installations in the occupied Golan Heights, in the far north, and the Negev desert, in the far south. Tehran’s ally in Lebanon, Hezbollah, fired volleys of rockets at the Golan at the same time as the Iranian bombardment, and the Iran-backed Houthi forces in Yemen, claimed they had also joined the attack.

Earlier on Saturday, Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency reported that the country’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) had boarded a ship in the Strait of Hormuz by helicopter assault and taken it into Iranian waters. The cargo ship, the MSC Aries, is Portugese-flagged but linked to an Israeli company.

Through its mission at the UN, Iran declared the mass aerial attack, which Tehran dubbed “Operation True Promise” was a retaliation for the bombing of an Iranian diplomatic building in Damascus on 1 April, and that it now considered the matter closed, unless there was further action by Israel.

“The matter can be deemed concluded, the statement said. However, should the Israeli regime make another mistake, Iran’s response will be considerably more severe,” the statement on the X social media platform said. “It is a conflict between Iran and the rogue Israeli regime, from which the US must stay away!”

Netanyahu spoke by phone for 25 minutes with US president Joe Biden at 4am Israeli time, as the aerial attack appeared to peter out.

After the call, Biden said he had reaffirmed to Netanyahu “America’s ironclad commitment to the security of Israel”.

“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,” Biden said, adding that on Sunday he would convene G7 leaders “to coordinate a united diplomatic response to Iran’s brazen attack”.

“My team will engage with their counterparts across the region. And we will stay in close touch with Israel’s leaders,” Biden said. “And while we have not seen attacks on our forces or facilities today, we will remain vigilant to all threats and will not hesitate to take all necessary action to protect our people.”

An IDF officer said the Israeli leadership would consider its response early on Sunday, and meanwhile Israel called for an emergency session of the UN security council to condemn the attack. The meeting is expected at 4pm on Sunday (9pm BST).

In the days leading up to the assault, US officials had predicted it would be an unprecedented operation launched from Iran on Israeli territory. They said that if it did not cause mass casualties, Washington would urge Israel to moderate its own response, to prevent tit-for-tat escalation spiralling out of control, drawing in other countries and the US itself.

Biden interrupted a weekend break at his house on Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, and arrived back at the White House just after the first drones had been launched, and met his top security officials in the underground situation room. US surveillance planes in the region tracked the incoming attack, and US fighter jets shot down incoming drones and missiles.

The Jordanian air force was also reported to have intercepted some of the projectiles over its territory, and the UK’s Royal Air Force said it was contributing fighters and refuelling planes, mostly to fill in for the US in conducting aerial patrols over Iraq and Syria as part of its campaign against the Islamic State, but the defence secretary, Grant Shapps, said British planes could also “intercept airborne attacks within range of our existing missions”.

There had been nearly two weeks of speculation about when, where and how Tehran or its proxy forces would respond to the 1 April strike on an Iranian diplomatic building in the Syrian capital of Damascus which killed Gen Mohammad Reza Zahedi, a senior figure in Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards, and eight other officers.

Israeli officials almost never claim responsibility for attacks carried out on foreign soil. Tehran has blamed Israel for the strike.

Since the war in Gaza began six months ago, there have been near-daily exchanges of fire between Israeli forces and Hezbollah along the Israel-Lebanon border that have threatened to escalate into full-blown conflict.

A direct attack by Iran on Israel, however, was not believed to be on the cards: Tehran’s leaders have previously made clear that they are not seeking a war with Israel, which could also draw in the US.

Iran has never responded with such force to previous attacks, including many covert Israeli operations on its soil, or the US assassination of the powerful Quds Force leader Qassem Soleimani in Iraq in 2020.

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Iran launches retaliatory attack on Israel with hundreds of drones, missiles

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U.S. Intercepts Dozens of Iranian Drones and Missiles Aimed at Israel

Britain’s defense secretary said British jets were prepared to intercept Iranian attacks. France and Germany expressed support.

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By Gaya Gupta and Emma Bubola

• April 13, 2024

The U.S. military said that it had shot down dozens of the drones and missiles that Iran fired at Israel on Saturday, a strong demonstration that despite recent criticism of Israel’s conduct of the war in Gaza, Washington was firmly committed to protecting a key ally from Iran, a mutual adversary.

President Biden said that the United States had “helped Israel take down nearly all of the incoming drones and missiles,” in part thanks to aircraft and military ships the Pentagon had moved to the region in the past week.

While Mr. Biden has grown increasingly vocal in his frustration with Israel’s military offensive in Gaza — calling its bombardment there “indiscriminate” and saying that Israel has not done enough to protect Palestinian civilians — he has maintained that when it comes to Iran, the United States’ commitment to Israel is “ironclad.”

“We will support Israel and help defend Israel,” he said, “and Iran will not succeed.”

The United States has consistently affirmed Israel’s right to defend itself, and it has also directly intervened militarily against attacks from Iran’s proxy forces, including the Houthi militia based in Yemen .

This year, the U.S. military carried out strikes against Iranian forces and allied militias in Syria and Iraq in response to a drone attack in Jordan that killed three American soldiers. And in 2020, the United States killed a top Iranian commander , Maj. Gen. Qassim Suleimani, with a drone strike at Baghdad International Airport in Iraq.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak confirmed that Britain had helped defend Israel against the Iranian attack, saying that Britain’s air force had shot down “a number of Iranian attack drones” and would now work with allies to de-escalate tensions. “What we now need is for calm heads to prevail,” Mr. Sunak told the BBC on Sunday.

Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, Israel’s chief military spokesman, said that Israel had intercepted most of the 200 drones, cruise missiles and ballistic missiles launched by Iran with “some assistance” from its allies. “Over the past six months, we have been operating in close coordination with our partners,” he said, adding, “This partnership has always been robust, but last night it was exceptionally evident.”

France’s president, Emmanuel Macron, also condemned Iran’s attack and affirmed support for Israel, writing in a post on X that France was committed “to the security of Israel, our partners, and regional stability.”

Chancellor Olaf Scholz of Germany, a country that last week had to defend itself against accusations that its arms sales to Israel were abetting genocide in Gaza , called Iran’s attacks “unjustifiable and highly irresponsible.”

“Germany stands by Israel and we will discuss the situation with our allies,” he said in a statement on social media.

The cabinet of Jordan, a staunch critic of Israel’s war effort in Gaza, said on Sunday that its military had shot down aircraft and missiles that entered its airspace during the Iranian attack.

Eric Schmitt , Patrick Kingsley and Farnaz Fassihi contributed reporting.

Gaya Gupta is a reporter covering breaking news and a member of the 2023-24 Times Fellowship class , a program for journalists early in their careers. More about Gaya Gupta

Emma Bubola is a Times reporter based in London, covering news across Europe and around the world. More about Emma Bubola

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Israel says Iran's missile and drone attack largely thwarted, with "very little damage" caused

By Faris Tanyos , Cara Tabachnick , Tucker Reals

Updated on: April 14, 2024 / 9:20 PM EDT / CBS News

Air raid sirens and loud booms sounded across Israel Saturday evening after Iran launched a barrage of missiles and drones at the country in a retaliatory attack , but Israeli officials said the assault was almost entirely thwarted by air defense systems and with the help of the U.S. and Israel's other allies.  

More than 300 missiles and drones were fired from Iran toward Israel, Israel Defense Forces spokesperson Daniel Hagari said . He said virtually all of the weapons were intercepted before entering Israeli territory and he reported only minor damage to one military base from the few ballistic missiles that did land in the country. Hagari confirmed that a 10-year-old girl had been "severely injured by shrapnel," but said "as far as we know, there are no additional casualties."

"The Iranian threat met the aerial and technological superiority of the IDF, along with a strong fighting coalition — which together intercepted the overwhelming majority of the threats. 99% of the threats launched towards Israeli territory were intercepted — a very significant strategic achievement," Hagari said.

The IDF said  in a separate, earlier statement posted on social media there were some injuries from the Iranian-launched missiles, including at a military base in southern Israel, but the full statement released later by Hagari made no mention of casualties.

"Very little damage was caused," Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said in a statement early Sunday, lauding his own forces and Israel's American and other international partners for having "thwarted this attack in an impressive manner."

Hagari said Iran launched about 170 drones, of which "zero crossed into Israeli territory." He said every one of the 30 cruise missiles fired by Iran also failed to reach Israeli territory, with 25 being intercepted by Israeli fighter jets.

"Out of over 120 ballistic missiles, only a few crossed into Israeli territory, with the rest being intercepted. These fell at the Nevatim Air Force Base, causing only minor damage to infrastructure," the IDF spokesperson said.

Two U.S. officials told CBS News that five ballistic missiles got through Israeli and U.S. air defenses and impacted Israeli territory. Four landed at Navatim Air Force Base, where Israeli F-35s are based and which U.S officials say was Iran's primary target. One missile hit a runway, another hit an empty hanger and a third hit a hangar that was no longer in use. Another ballistic missile appeared to be aimed at a radar site in northern Israel, but it missed. 

Of the 120 ballistic missiles fired by Iran, roughly half failed on launch or crashed in flight, according to one of the U.S. officials.   

The Iranian attack was designed to saturate Israeli and U.S. air defenses with drones and cruise missiles, clearing the way for the ballistic missiles. U.S. aircraft operating out of bases in Jordan and Saudi Arabia were waiting for the drones and shot down between 70 and 80 of them, with some aircraft shooting down more than one drone.  

The United Nations Security Council held an emergency meeting at 4 p.m. ET Sunday convened at Israel's request, per a senior U.S. official. 

In a statement released late Saturday night, President Biden condemned the Iranian assault — the Islamic republic's first-ever direct attack on Israel — and said the U.S. had "helped Israel take down nearly all of the incoming drones and missiles."  

U.S. forces in the region "intercepted dozens of of missiles and UAVs en route to Israel, launched from Iran, Iraq, Syria and Yemen," Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said separately.   

The president disclosed that over the last week, U.S. forces had "moved aircraft and ballistic missile defense destroyers to the region" in anticipation of the attack. 

Israel closed its airspace at midnight and fully activated its air defense systems ahead of the Iranian assault. It took several hours for the drones to reach Israeli airspace. Alerts began to sound across Israel at about 2 a.m. local time on Sunday (7 p.m. Eastern Saturday), the IDF said. Alarms went off in southern Israel, by the Dead Sea, in Jerusalem, and the Shomron area.

Iran's attack was the its promised retaliation  for an April 1 strike by Israel  on an Iranian consulate in Damascus, Syria, which killed seven officers from its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.     

In a statement, the IRGC said Iran had "launched a punitive strike against the occupied territories," referring to Israel. It acknowledged an operation involving "the use of both missiles and drones."

Iran's mission to the United Nations  said  on social media that the attack was in response to the strike in Syria and it added that, "the matter can be deemed concluded. However, should the Israeli regime make another mistake, Iran's response will be considerably more severe."

The mission added; "It is a conflict between Iran and the rogue Israeli regime, from which the U.S. MUST STAY AWAY!" 

"Our response will be much larger than tonight's military action if Israel retaliates against Iran," the Islamic republic's chief of staff Maj. Gen. Mohammad Bagheri told Iranian state TV. He warned that if the U.S. were to back any Israeli retaliation for the overnight assault, it would lead to a targeting of U.S. bases in the region.

Mr. Biden returned to the White House on Saturday in anticipation of an imminent attack by Iran. Following a lengthy meeting with the National Security Council, he spoke by phone with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Saturday evening. 

In his statement, Mr. Biden said he had reaffirmed to Netanyahu "America's ironclad commitment to the security of Israel," and told his Israeli counterpart "that Israel demonstrated a remarkable capacity to defend against and defeat even unprecedented attacks."

The president said he would convene a meeting Sunday with G7 leaders "to coordinate a united diplomatic response to Iran's brazen attack," and the U.N. Security Council was expected to convene on Sunday afternoon for an emergency meeting at Israel's request, a senior U.S. official told CBS News.

Michael Herzog, Israel's ambassador to the U.S., wrote on social media that Iran "must be held accountable" for Saturday's actions.   

The U.S. was on standby for any further action by Iran or from within the region via its proxies, a U.S. official told CBS News. American military assets were positioned to be able to shoot down incoming drones from Iran, including with assets in Iraq and Syria, three U.S. officials told CBS News. The U.S. also has fighter jets on standby.

The U.S. Navy destroyer USS Carney remained in the central Mediterranean to provide additional protection if needed, while the destroyer USS Arleigh Burke was in the eastern Mediterranean.  

The U.S. preference is for the Israeli government to wait and assess the impact of the Iranian reprisal before responding to it, a U.S. official told CBS News. The U.S. preference is for a calibrated response. The expectation was that the Israel would calibrate its response based on whether it successfully intercepted the incoming Iranian missiles and drones, and whether there were any casualties.  

Netanyahu convened his war cabinet in Tel Aviv after delivering a video address Saturday night.

"In recent years, and even more so in recent weeks, Israel has been preparing for the possibility of a direct attack from Iran," he said. "Our defense systems are deployed, we are prepared for any scenario, both in defense and attack. The state of Israel is strong, the IDF is strong, the public is strong."  

The British military scrambled jets from Cyprus in response to the Iranian assault, a U.K. official confirmed to CBS News. Britain's defense ministry later said in a statement that it had moved additional fighter jets and air refueling tankers to the region.

"These UK jets will intercept any airborne attacks within range of our existing missions, as required," the defense ministry said.

French military planes also contributed "in patrolling airspace" for Israel during the assault, IDF spokesperson Hagari said on Sunday.

Ahead of the attack, earlier Saturday, the Israel Home Front Command issued guidelines limiting all gatherings to a maximum of 1,000 people, and barring them altogether close to the border with Gaza. All schools were ordered to remain closed through at least Monday, including for day camps, though nearly all schools will be closed anyway over the coming week for the Passover holiday. People were advised to remain near safe rooms and shelters.

The U.S. government had also issued a shelter-in-place order for all employees and their family members in Israel, but it lifted that order Sunday morning , saying the "threat of drone and/or missile barrages has diminished."

Wider travel restrictions, limiting U.S. government staff and their families' travel around Israel, remained in place, and all Americans in the country were advised not to travel outside major cities, which are better protected from incoming fire by missile defenses. 

On Friday, Mr. Biden urged Iran not to move forward with the retaliation it had promised for more than a week, saying his message to Tehran was: "Don't." Earlier in the week, the U.S. sent a senior general to Israel to coordinate with the close American ally on any response it might make to an Iranian attack. 

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak issued a statement condemning Iran's drone attack "in the strongest terms." 

Josep Borrell, European Union foreign affairs chief, said in a social media post that the EU "strongly condemns the unacceptable Iranian attack against Israel, and calling it "an unprecedented escalation and a grave threat to regional security."

In a statement, China's foreign ministry urged restraint from all parties involved, calling the attack "the latest spillover of the Gaza conflict" and urging implementation of a recent United Nations Security Council resolution that demanded a cease-fire in the war, which it said "must end now."

Tension in the region has been rising sharply amid Israel's ongoing war in the Gaza Strip with Hamas , a close ally of Iran. Earlier on Saturday, Iranian  commandos seized  an Israeli-affiliated container ship near the Strait of Hormuz.

The U.S. government called on Iran to release the vessel and its international crew immediately. 

"Seizing a civilian vessel without provocation is a blatant violation of international law," said National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson. "It must be condemned unequivocally, and we will work with our partners to hold Iran to account for its actions."

All U.S. embassies in the Middle East were put on high alert and required to hold emergency action committee meetings. Diplomats in Lebanon and Israel were specifically told not to travel to certain areas within those countries.

Earlier in the day Lebanon launched missiles toward northern Israel. State media reported Jordan has closed its airspace "in light of the escalating risks in the region," and declared  a state of emergency.

Sources Friday had told CBS News the retaliation could include attacks carried out both by Iranian forces and proxy groups around the region that Iran has been funneling additional arms to for weeks.

CBS News'   Margaret Brennan, Eleanor Watson, David Martin and Debora Patta contributed to this report.  

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• Benjamin Neta​nyahu

Faris Tanyos is a news editor for CBSNews.com, where he writes and edits stories and tracks breaking news. He previously worked as a digital news producer at several local news stations up and down the West Coast.

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