UPDATE IV: Iran conducted a measured attack with some 200 drones which lasted around two to three hours and appeared to be calculated to avoid further escalations.
They showed they were willing to strike inside Israel directly from Iran and are capable of penetrating Israel's air defense but gave plenty of warning and appear to have only inflicted relatively minor damages.
Iran's Permanent Mission at the UN wrote on Twitter:
"Conducted on the strength of Article 51 of the UN Charter pertaining to legitimate defense, Iran’s military action was in response to the Zionist regime’s aggression against our diplomatic premises in Damascus. The matter can be deemed concluded. However, should the Israeli regime make another mistake, Iran’s response will be considerably more severe. It is a conflict between Iran and the rogue Israeli regime, from which the U.S. MUST STAY AWAY!"
UPDATE III: "A senior U.S. official tells ABC News that Iran has launched an additional 70 missiles," ABC News
reports. "The country had earlier launched 80, bringing the total to 150."
UPDATE II: Iranian drones struck Israel's Ramon military air base in the Negev, according to Al Jazeera.
UPDATE: Iran's drones are beginning to rain down on Israel but the Iron Dome appears to be intercepting most of them.
This is just round one as the attack is expected to unfold "over hours," according to
Reuters.The US and Jordan say they shot down dozens of the drones before they could arrive:
Iran launched dozens of drones at Israel on Saturday night local time and they're expected to reach Israeli airspace in "several hours," Axios reports.
The attack was launched in retaliation for Israel
assassinating a high-ranking Iranian Brigadier General and 15 others in an airstrike on an Iranian embassy building in Syria on April 1.
From
Axios, "Iran launched drone attack on Israel":
Israel's attack on Iran's embassy was likely a plot to drag America into a war with Iran, which Israel has been lobbying for for decades.
In late December,
former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett wrote a column in the Wall Street Journal demanding America fight Israel's war with Iran and "bring down" their "regime."
