Iran Launches Missile Attack on Israel

Explosions are being reported over Jerusalem as Iran attacks Israel with ballistic missiles in retaliation for Israeli strikes against its terrorist proxy Hezbollah in Lebanon. 

Anonymous White House officials told Reuters this morning that a missile bombardment was expected in the next 12 hours that will be “bigger” and more “widespread” than Iran’s April 14 strike on Israel. That night, the Islamic Republic saturated Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system with more than 300 missiles and drones. With assistance from the United States, 99 percent of the munitions were intercepted and the remainder mostly failed to reach their targets.

US Naval assets have been deployed to the Eastern Mediterranean since early April to bolster missile defenses as Israel fights a two-front war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip to the south and Hezbollah in Lebanon to the north. 

The anonymous sources told the press that "A direct military attack from Iran against Israel will carry severe consequences for Iran."

Yesterday, President Biden told reporters “no” when asked if he would deploy more troops to the Middle East to assist Israel. Today, the Pentagon instead announced that thousands of troops are moving to the region.

Iran’s attack comes in response to Israel’s recent decapitation of Hezbollah’s leadership, including the Friday airstrike that killed the Islamist group’s chief Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut. Israeli Defense Force troops crossed the border into Lebanon this morning to capitalize on the leadership vacuum and drive Hezbollah back from its northern border, where Hezbollah has been operating in violation of UN Resolution 1701 since 2006.

Some 60,000 Israelis have been evacuated from their homes in the north since the war against Hamas began in October of last year for fear of Hezbollah strikes.

Iran may be forced to retaliate not only for the strikes against its proxy, but also because it failed to land a glove on Israel after the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran on July 31st. Geopolitical risk analyst Ferando Ferreira has said that hardliners in the regime have been pushing for such a move since the Islamic Republic was embarrassed by the killing of Haniyeh in their capital.

This story is developing.