Iran launches air attacks on Israel

Iran has launched an airborne attack on Israel today, marking a dramatic escalation of the Middle East conflict that for the past six months has been mostly confined to Gaza.

The Iranian attack by what the Israeli military described as long-range drones comes after Tehran vowed to retaliate for a 1 April suspected Israeli strike on an Iranian diplomatic mission in Damascus, Syria.

Iran's state-owned Irna news agency said the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has launched missiles and drones against Israel.

"This attack is likely to unfold over a number of hours," the White House said. "President [Joe] Biden has been clear: Our support for Israel's security is ironclad. The US will stand with the people of Israel and support their defense against these threats from Iran."

The US has already pre-positioned forces in the Middle East to deal with the expected Iranian counter-strike. The initial reaction from the White House does not explicitly threaten a retaliatory attack against Iranian targets.

But Israel has vowed to retaliate against any strikes from Iran and its proxies. Today marks the first direct military attack by a foreign state against Israel since the 1991 Gulf war.

Separately, Iranian naval vessels earlier today seized the Portuguese flagged, British-owned MSC Aries container ship transiting through the Gulf of Oman.

By Haik Gugarats