The United States (US) President, Joe Biden, has revealed that American forces helped to intercept and bring down nearly all the drones and missiles fired by Iran at Israel, reaffirming his “ironclad” support to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
This follows the reported launch of over 300 drones and missiles by the Iranian authority towards Israel in an unprecedented attack overnight, injuring at least 12 people, according to an Israeli army spokesman.
This disclosure is contained in a statement issued by Biden where he stated that he would convene his fellow leaders of the G7 group of wealthy nations on Sunday to coordinate a “united diplomatic response” to Iran’s “brazen” attack.
Biden said that he had earlier ordered the movement of US military aircraft and ballistic missile defense destroyers to the Middle East as the likely Iranian threat to the key US ally became clear, adding that these deployments and the extraordinary skill of the US military, helped Israel take down nearly all of the incoming drones and missiles.
Condemns attacks
Biden in his statement said,
- ‘’Earlier today, Iran — and its proxies operating out of Yemen, Syria and Iraq — launched an unprecedented air attack against military facilities in Israel. I condemn these attacks in the strongest possible terms.
- ‘’At my direction, to support the defense of Israel, the US military moved aircraft and ballistic missile defense destroyers to the Middle East over the course of the past week. Thanks to these deployments and the extraordinary skill of our servicemembers, we helped Israel take down nearly all the incoming drones and missiles.’’
Israel had demonstrated remarkable capacity
Biden said that he had spoken to Netanyahu to “reaffirm America’s ironclad commitment” to Israel’s security, adding that Israel has demonstrated a remarkable capacity to defend against and defeat even unprecedented attacks.
- He said, ‘’I’ve just spoken with Prime Minister Netanyahu to reaffirm 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.
- ‘’Tomorrow, I will convene my fellow 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 leaders. And while we have not seen attacks on our forces or facilities today, we will remain vigilant to all threats and we will not hesitate to take all necessary actions to protect our people.’’
Iran fires over 300 missiles at Israel
Iran launched more than 300 drones and missiles towards Israel in its unprecedented attack overnight, injuring at least 12 people, according to an Israeli army spokesman on Sunday.
The military spokesman, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, in a televised statement, said,
- “Last night Iran fired over 300 ballistic missiles, UAVs and cruise missiles towards Israel.’’
Hagari said 170 drones and 30 cruise missiles were launched, none of which entered Israeli territory, adding that 110 ballistic missiles were also fired and few of them reached Israel.
In a separate statement, the Israeli military said that “dozens of surface-to-surface missile launches” were identified, with the majority intercepted before crossing into Israeli territory.
The operation late Saturday marked the first time Iran has launched a direct military assault on Israeli territory.
Over the last 2 weeks, Iranian authorities repeatedly vowed to “punish” Israel after the death of seven Guards including two generals of the Quds Force in an attack that levelled the Iranian consulate in Damascus, Syria, on April 1.