New Delhi:
Iran launched a large-scale missile offensive against Israel – its second in the past seven months – Tuesday, targeting military bases in a strike dubbed ‘Operation True Promise II‘. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said the attack – which sharply escalates military tension in West Asia – was in response to the killing last week of Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah and Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh.
A chilling video shared on X by Iranian news outlet Press TV shows multiple rockets being fired and arcing into the night sky, filling it with a deafening roar. As the video plays out, and pans to show more of the sky, more and more burning orange spots appear on the horizon.
The final 25 seconds of the clip show dozens of what look like burning balls dropping over an urban centre; many of them explode mid-air, having been successfully intercepted.
Op. True Promise II: Iran launches hundreds of missiles at Zionist entity, 90% hit targets
Follow Press TV on Telegram: https://t.co/B3zXG73Jym pic.twitter.com/IxJfhOOZyE
— Press TV 🔻 (@PressTV) October 2, 2024
Several, though, seem to break through and hit the ground.
Another video shared online shows a massive crater near the Mossad HQ in Tel Aviv. The video was geolocated by American news outlet CNN to establish it was shot from a high-rise apartment building in Herzliya, less than 3 km from the Mossad headquarters.
The barrage of 180+ projectiles included, for the first time, the Fattah hypersonic missiles. The missiles’ flight path meant it streaked over Jordan too, prompting Amman to announce a suspension of air traffic.
However, Israel’s formidable multi-layered aerial defence system, at the core of which is the Iron Dome, was in action to intercept the missiles.
VIDEO | Israel’s Air Defence System In Action To Intercept Iranian Missiles
As with the April attack, Iran and Israel have squabbled over the strike rate of these missiles, with Tehran claiming a 90 per cent success rate but Tel Aviv insisting most were tracked and destroyed by the Iron Dome and Arrow systems.
No injuries were reported in Israel, but one man was killed in occupied West Bank.
The April strike was retaliation for what Iran said was an Israeli air strike on its consulate in Syria’s Damascus, in which seven Guards officers, including two commanders, were killed.
NDTV Explains | Inside ‘True Promise II’: What Changed In Iran’s Latest Israel Attack
Then, for ‘Operation True Promise I’, Tehran fired nearly 200 ballistic missiles and older models of explosive drones, a staggering 99 per cent of which, Tel Aviv claimed, had been intercepted.
Ballistic missiles are an important part of Tehran’s arsenal; Iran says these are a key deterrent and retaliatory force against the United States, Israel and other potential regional targets. According to the United States, Iran has the most numbers of such weapons in the region.
Iran is also believed to have cruise missiles like the Kh-55, an air-launched nuclear-capable weapon with a range up to 3,000 km, and the advanced anti-ship missile the Khalid Farzh, which has a smaller range – around 300 km. Both, however, can carry a 1,000-kg warhead.
Early this morning Iran said its attack had been completed and no further military action is expected, barring further provocation. Israel and the US, however, have vowed to retaliate.
READ | Iran Says Attack On Israel Over Amid Fears Of Spreading Conflict
The US said it would work with Israel to make sure Iran faced “severe consequences”. Israel, meanwhile, has again bombed Lebanon, targeting Beirut’s southern suburbs – a Hezbollah stronghold.
Guy Nir, spokesperson for the Israeli embassy in India, told NDTV Tehran would get an appropriate response. “If he (Iran leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei) plans to initiate a full-scale war with Israel, it will be a mistake for them. Israel’s response is going to be strategic and pin-pointed… not a full-scale war.”
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