Iran fires missiles into Israel as regionwide conflict grows, US calls it severe escalation

JERUSALEM: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday vowed retaliation against Iran for its missile barrage on Israel.

"Iran made a big mistake tonight and it will pay for it," Netanyahu said as he gathered his Security Cabinet for a late-night meeting.

Netanyahu said the missile attack was a failure and that Iran would soon learn a painful lesson just as its enemies in Gaza, Lebanon and other places have learned.

"Whoever attacks us. We attack them," he said.

Iran fired a barrage of missiles at Israel, sending Israelis diving into shelters but prompting celebrations across Iran. There was no immediate report of casualties in the attack late on Tuesday.

Israel said it intercepted many of the missiles, and officials in Washington said US destroyers assisted in Israel's defence. Iran said most of its missiles hit their targets.

Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard said 90 per cent of missiles it launched against Israel hit their targets successfully.

The statement broadcast on state TV late on Tuesday said the attack targeted air and radar bases as well as security apparatus that planned the killing of senior Hamas and Hezbollah figures.

It said Iran has a right to defend itself under international regulations.

The TV station showed footage of missiles being launched in the darkness from unidentified locations in Iran.

Iranian state television, long controlled by hard-liners, has aired images of people in Arak, Qom and Tehran celebrating Iran's missile attack in Israel.

Some shouted, "God is great!", "Death to America" and "Death to Israel."

However, Iran's support of regional militias abroad has been a point of anger during protests as the country suffers under international sanctions.

The Israeli military said it has received no reports of injuries from the Iranian missile attack.

The military's spokesperson, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, said the country's air defences intercepted many of the incoming missiles, though some landed in central and southern Israel.

"This strike will have consequences," he said.

He urged the public to continue to listen to public-safety guidelines from the army.

Israel has reopened its airspace after the country's airport authority briefly closed airspace to incoming flights during Tuesday's attack.

But after the army said the threat had passed, the authority said flights were operating as normal again.

US President Joe Biden said his administration is "fully supportive" of Israel after it thwarted an Iranian missile attack and that he's in "active discussion" with aides about an appropriate response.

Biden also praised the US and Israel militaries for defeating the Iranian missile barrage.

"Make no mistake, the United States is fully, fully supportive of Israel," Biden said on Tuesday at the start of a meeting with White House officials focused on the administration's response to Hurricane Helene.

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said soon after the attack that it amounted to a "significant escalation by Iran".

Biden said it remains to be seen what consequences Iran will face.

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is in discussions with his counterpart in Israel after Iran fired a barrage of missiles at the nation.

Austin received a short update from Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and "is consulting closely with them on next steps", Pentagon press secretary Major General Pat Ryder told reporters.

Iran launched about twice as many ballistic missiles as it did during an attack against Israel earlier this year but it did not appear to launch drones, Ryder said.

A full assessment of Tuesday's attack is underway, he said. The Israeli military said Iran fired 170 drones, more than 30 cruise missiles and more than 120 ballistic missiles in the April attack.

Ryder said two US Navy destroyers -- the USS Cole and the USS Bulkeley -- fired about a dozen interceptors to defend Israel in the latest attack.

He decried reports indicating Iran wants to de-escalate tensions in the region.

"You don't launch that many missiles at a target without the intent on hitting something," Ryder said.

The UN Security Council has scheduled an emergency meeting on the escalating situation in the Middle East for Wednesday at 10 am, at the request of France and Israel.

Israel's UN Ambassador Danny Danon said in a letter to the council late on Tuesday that the Iranian ballistic missile attack on Israel "demonstrates that the charm offensive conducted by Iran and its new president is a mirage and the decision-making in Iran lies with the Supreme Leader and the Revolutionary Guards".

He accused Iran of trying to destroy Israel "with a ring of fire from seven fronts" and urged the Security Council to condemn the country and designate its Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organisation.

Netanyahu had on Monday warned Iran, which backs Hezbollah and Hamas.

Hezbollah's acting leader, Naim Kassem, promised the group will fight on following the death of its long-time chief Hassan Nasrallah and several of the group's top commanders who have been assassinated in recent days.

Israel and Hezbollah have traded fire across the Lebanon border almost daily since October 8, the day after Hamas sent fighters into Israel and sparked the war in Gaza. It's been almost a year since some 250 people were abducted from Israel, and friends and family are worried about their loved ones as attention turns away from hostages and north toward Lebanon.