The Cradle, October 2, 2024 —Iran launched hundreds of ballistic missiles at Israel late on 1 October in a massive retaliatory attack that officials in Tehran say achieved direct hits on multiple military bases across the country.
“We targeted three military bases: Nevatim, which houses F-35 aircraft, Netzarim, which houses F-15 jets used in the assassination of [Hezbollah leader] Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, and Tel Nof base near Tel Aviv with Fateh ballistic missiles,” the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) announced following the launch of as many as 400 missiles, including its first-ever use of the Fateh hypersonic ballistic missile.
Dubbed “True Promise 2,” the Iranian operation also targeted “several air and radar bases, as well as centers for plotting and planning assassinations against the leaders of the resistance,” the IRGC said in a second statement.
“Despite this region being protected by the most advanced and dense defense systems, 90 percent of the strikes successfully hit their targets, causing the Zionist regime to be terrified of the Islamic Republic’s intelligence and operational dominance,” the statement added.
“In accordance with legitimate rights and with the aim of [establishing] peace and security in Iran and the region, a decisive response has been made to the Zionist regime’s aggression,” Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said via social media.
Tehran confirmed that the unprecedented attack was in response to Israel’s assassination of Hamas politburo chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran earlier this year and of Hezbollah secretary-general Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut last week.
Footage shared across social media shows Iranian missiles successfully hitting targets as deep as Tel Aviv as air raid sirens blasted across the occupied territories for more than 30 minutes, sending millions into bomb shelters.
Following the attack, the Israeli military claimed its air defenses managed to “defeat” the Iranian attack and said only a few “isolated” impacts were recorded. Western media reports cited officials as saying “no injuries” were reported following the attack.
Washington confirmed it helped Israel repel the missile barrage, as US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan told reporters on Tuesday that “US naval destroyers joined Israeli air defense units in firing interceptors to shoot down inbound missiles,” calling the Iranian operations “ineffective.”
“We have made clear that there will be consequences – severe consequences – for this attack, and we will work with Israel to make that the case,” Sullivan added.
The Israeli army also threatened to “bomb heavily” across West Asia in the coming hours.
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke with his Israeli counterpart Yoav Gallant shortly after the Iranian operation, reaffirming the White House’s “ironclad commitment” to Israel’s defense, Pentagon spokesman Pat Ryder told reporters.
Ryder added that the Iranian attack was “about twice as large in terms of the number of ballistic missiles that they launched [back in April].”
Speaking to Al Jazeera, a senior source from the Lebanese resistance movement Hezbollah confirmed that most of the Israeli bases targeted by Tehran “were hit directly, especially the airbases,” adding that Tel Aviv recorded “significant casualties” among its troops.
“Iran’s legal, rational, and legitimate response to the terrorist acts of the Zionist regime, which involved targeting Iranian nationals and interests and infringing upon the national sovereignty of the Islamic Republic of Iran, has been duly carried out,” the Islamic Republic’s permanent mission to the UN said via social media shortly after Tuesday’s attack.
“Should the Zionist regime dare to respond or commit further acts of malevolence, a subsequent and crushing response will ensue. Regional states and the Zionists’ supporters are advised to part ways with the regime,” the statement stressed.