Iran defends its second barrage of missiles at Israel as self-defence
Iran defends its second barrage of missiles at Israel as self-defence
NewsFeed Iran defends its second barrage of missiles at Israel as self-defence
Iran's government has defended its retaliatory attacks on Israel as 'self-defence' after launching a second barrage of missiles on Saturday night. Iran's strikes came after Israel's military bombed civilian areas and energy infrastructure across Iran, saying it was targeting Iran's nuclear programme.
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Al Jazeera
3 hours ago
- Al Jazeera
Analysis: What options does Iran have in its conflict against Israel?
Iran has now withstood three days of Israeli attacks, which have killed more than 120 Iranians, including several members of its military leadership. But its own response has been to hit back in a manner that Israel has never had to experience – with Iranian missiles causing devastating damage in Israel's biggest cities – including Tel Aviv and Haifa. How much damage both sides have caused – and in many cases what sites have exactly been hit – is unclear, with accurate facts hard to come by due to the information war that has accompanied the military conflict. It is also hard to know how many missiles and munitions both sides still have in their stockpiles, and how long Israel and Iran can sustain this fight. What we do know is that Iran is believed to have the largest missile programme in the Middle East, with thousands of ballistic missiles available with varying ranges and speeds. At the current rate, Iran could likely carry on attacking Israel for weeks – enough time for Israel to experience significant damage, which its population is not used to after years of only really being exposed to attacks from weaker armed groups in the Gaza Strip, Lebanon and Yemen. Iran is also revealing how effective its more advanced missiles can be. The Haj Qassem missile, used for the first time against Israel on Sunday, was able to evade Israeli air defences, and footage from Israel clearly shows the difference in power and speed compared to the older missiles that Iran had been using in its earlier barrages. Of course, Iran does not have an unlimited amount of these more advanced missiles, and ultimately will have to ration their use, but coupled with its more standard missiles, and thousands of drones, Iran has enough military ability to cause Israel damage – and confound those who believe that Iran does not have the strength to continue the fight in the short term. Israel's Iron Dome is being severely tested by Iran's missile barrages, but it has been able to lean on its principal ally, the United States, to provide assistance in intercepting the attacks. The US, led by President Donald Trump, has insisted, however, that it is not a party to the current conflict between Israel and Iran, and has threatened that the consequences will be severe if Iran does attack US interests in the region, which include military bases dotted throughout the Middle East. For Iran, any attack on US bases or personnel is a worst-case scenario that it wants to avoid. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has typically made cautious moves and will not want a direct fight with the US, or to give an excuse for Washington to add its own offensive military might to Israel's. A joint Israeli-US attack would likely have the ability to destroy Iran's most well-protected nuclear sites, and give the Israelis a far stronger position. It would also likely involve attacks against US bases located in countries – such as Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Turkiye – that are not direct enemies of Iran, and which Tehran will not want to bring into the conflict. These countries are also valuable to Iran as potential mediators. But Iran has other options. It has has repeatedly threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz, which lies between itself and Oman, immediately stopping the transit of millions of barrels of oil a day. Oil prices – which have already briefly shot up to a high of $78 per barrel on Friday before falling back – would likely rise higher than $100 if that were to happen, experts believe. The closure of the Strait of Hormuz is a strong card the Iranians have to play, and is a possibility in the short term should the fighting continue. But ultimately Iran will be looking for an off-ramp that would end a conflict that has the potential to escalate into a regional war against two nuclear powers – Israel and the US – and cause untold damage to its own economy, with the possibility of domestic unrest as a result. Iran will also know that while Israel will have its own limit on how much fighting it can endure, the support of the US gives it the ability to replenish munition stocks easier than Iran can. The Iranian government has already made it clear that it will reciprocate if Israel stops its attacks, and is willing to return to nuclear talks with the US. 'Once these [Israeli] attacks come to a stop, we will naturally reciprocate,' Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Sunday. This, however, depends on the US and its unpredictable president. Trump will need to put pressure on Israel and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to stop, and it is unclear whether the US president is willing to do so. Trump's rhetoric on the conflict is constantly changing. On one hand, he has repeated calls for an end to the fighting, while at the same time threatening Iran. Iran also knows that Trump is not someone who can be trusted or relied on. The US was involved in the deception prior to Israel's attack last week, with the Americans maintaining the pretence that nuclear talks with Iran would go ahead on Sunday despite secretly knowing that Israel was planning to attack. Still, an American-brokered agreement is the likeliest option Iran has to restrain Israel and end a conflict that has shown Iran's strength, but will be increasingly difficult for it to sustain.
Al Jazeera
5 hours ago
- Al Jazeera
Bombardment, strikes, deaths in third day of fierce Israel-Iran conflict
Iran has launched a new wave of ballistic missiles against Israel soon after loud explosions were heard in its capital Tehran, as the two countries continue to trade heavy fire for a third consecutive day and as US President Donald Trump hints both at peace coming 'soon' and at the possibility of the United States joining the conflict. On Sunday, residents in Tehran reported shuddering blasts in different areas in the heart of the city. Reports say missiles struck in Niavaran and Tajrish, in the capital's north, and around the Valiasr and Hafte Tir squares in the city centre. Other cities attacked by Israel included Shiraz and Isfahan, where a military base of the Defence Ministry was hit. The Israeli army said it struck an aerial refuelling aircraft at Mashhad Airport in eastern Iran, describing it as its longest-range attack since launching operations against Iran last week. Reporting from Tehran, Al Jazeera's Tohid Asadi said, 'Iran has not experienced a war to this extent since the Iran-Iraq War ended in 1988. There were similar Israeli strikes last year, of course, but nothing compared to what's been happening since Friday.' 'The government said earlier today that metro stations, schools and mosques are going to be ready to host people. But parts of these facilities, including mosques and schools, do not seem safe enough to be used as a sort of shelter,' he added. Iranian officials say at least 138 people have been killed in Israel's onslaught since Friday, including 60 on Saturday, half of them children, when a missile brought down a 14-storey apartment block in Tehran. There were no reports as yet of casualties from Sunday's attacks. In Israel, authorities said on Sunday that several missiles were launched from Iran, most of which were intercepted. Rescue workers were searching for survivors in the rubble from the previous night's wave of Iranian strikes. The hardest hit area was the town of Bat Yam, where more than 60 buildings were damaged. 'Iran will pay a heavy price for the murder of civilians, women and children,' Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said from a balcony overlooking blown-out apartments in Bat Yam, a city just south of Tel Aviv. Overnight, Iran struck the port city of Haifa and neighbouring Tamra, where at least four women were killed. Since the start of the conflict on Thursday, at least 13 people have been killed and 380 have been wounded in Israel. Al Jazeera's Nour Odeh, reporting from Amman, Jordan, said, 'The damage from Iranian attacks is certainly extensive and unprecedented. This is the first time that Israel has confronted a state with a formidable army in the region, certainly the first time since 1973 [against Egypt]'. 'To the north, in Haifa, oil and gas pipelines were damaged, but activities continue at the oil refineries', she added. Israel launched its operation with a surprise attack on Friday that killed several members of the Iranian military's top echelon, killed several nuclear scientists, and damaged the country's nuclear sites. Since then, Israel's attacks have been broadening in their scope, hitting residential areas and Iran's civilian and energy sectors and raising the stakes for the global economy and the functioning of the Iranian state. As both parties continue to pound each other with strikes, hopes for a diplomatic solution seem distant for now, though they will no doubt be high on the agenda of the Group of Seven summit beginning Monday in Canada. Speaking at a press conference in Tehran on Sunday, Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Tehran does not seek to expand the conflict to neighbouring countries unless forced to. Araghchi reaffirmed Iran's opposition to nuclear weapons but defended its right to peaceful nuclear development. He said Iran had been ready to offer assurances in the now-cancelled sixth round of US talks, which could have led to an agreement, though Israel derailed the diplomatic progress. The US and Iran have held five rounds of talks since April to try to find a path to a new nuclear deal that would replace a 2015 accord that Trump abandoned during his first term in office. Araghchi also said Israel's attacks on his country could not have materialised without the agreement and support of the US. 'We have well-documented and solid evidence of the support provided by American forces in the region and their bases for the military attacks of the Zionist regime'. He said Trump has publicly and explicitly confirmed he knew about the attacks, that they could not have happened without US weapons and equipment, and that more attacks are coming. 'Therefore, the US, in our opinion, is a partner in these attacks and must accept its responsibility.' Trump denied any involvement and warned Tehran not to widen its retaliation to include US targets, but also didn't rule out more direct US involvement beyond the vast arsenal and intelligence the US provides to Israel. 'If we are attacked in any way, shape or form by Iran, the full strength and might of the U.S. Armed Forces will come down on you at levels never seen before,' the US president said in a message on Truth Social. He also claimed peace could be reached 'soon', suggesting that many diplomatic meetings were taking place. 'We can easily get a deal done between Iran and Israel, and end this bloody conflict,' he said. Trump has repeatedly said Iran could end the war by agreeing to tough restrictions on its nuclear programme, which Iran says is for peaceful purposes but Western countries say could be used to make a bomb. Trump told ABC he would be 'open' to Russian President Vladimir Putin being a mediator. 'He is ready. He called me about it. We had a long talk about it'. The US president's words were a first hint at Washington's diplomatic involvement in the ongoing conflict. In recent days, the US has ratcheted down its diplomatic presence in countries in the region, anticipating that air strikes on Iranian military sites would be taking place.
Al Jazeera
6 hours ago
- Al Jazeera
Israeli air attack on Mashhad airport in Iran
NewsFeed Israeli air attack on Mashhad airport in Iran Videos show fire and thick plumes of smoke rising from Mashhad Hashemi Nejad airport in eastern Iran following an Israeli missile attack. Israel claims it targeted an Iranian refuelling plane. It would be the furthest strike since the start of the military operation, at a distance of approximately 2,300km.
