Tehran unloads nearly 200 missiles onto Israel

Attack comes on the heels of martyrdom of Hassan Nasrallah and Abbas Nilforoshan

Photo: AFP

IN an act of ‘collective retribution’ over the killings of Ismail Haniyeh, Hassan Nasrallah, Abbas Nilforoshan, other leaders of resistance groups allied with Iran and commanders of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) at the hands of Israel, Tehran carried out a “massive missile attack on Tel Aviv”, according to Iran’s official news agency IRNA.

Iran sent nearly 200 missiles into Israeli airspace, Israel’s military said on Tuesday night. That would make it a larger attack than Iran’s assault of April, which saw over 100 ballistic missiles and 30 cruise missiles fired into Israel. However, in stark contrast to the earlier attack, which was largely thwarted by the Israeli, US, Saudi Arabian and Jordanian militaries, this time 90 per cent of the projectiles hit their targets, said the IRGC. Sources told state media in Tehran that it had targeted three Israeli military bases in the attack. Video clips of Palestinians cheering as the Iranian missiles passed overhead quickly became viral on social media.

On the other hand, the Israeli military claimed “a large number” of the missiles were intercepted. Flashes in the sky above Tel Aviv appeared to show air defence systems intercepting some incoming fire, showing that the Iron Dome was very much in action.

A senior Iranian official told Reuters that the country’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, had personally ordered the attack.

Meanwhile, Reuters staff reported hearing explosions near the Mossad office in Tel Aviv.