Updated 01.44 | Published at 01.00
unsaveSave
Just before 1 a.m., the sky over Israel exploded.
The attack was launched at the same time as sirens sounded across the country.
In several places, the population is asked to stay close to shelters.
And in Iran they fear Israel’s revenge – for revenge.
– The war is entering a new phase, says political analyst Barak Ravid on CNN.
Live reporting
Here we report the latest news about the attack on Israel.
This is what Aftonbladet’s reporter Magnus Falkehed is saying right now:
– In the sky outside Tel Aviv, Aftonbladet’s team has seen lights in the sky, probably from the air defense system. It’s about four to five in about the same number of minutes.
The US House of Representatives is changing its schedule next week due to Iran’s attack, NBC News said.
Republican Majority Leader Steve Scalise states that they should “debate bills that support our ally Israel and hold Iran and its terrorist allies accountable.”
President Biden stated on X shortly before 1:30 a.m. that he had just had a meeting with his National Security Council regarding the Iranian attack on Israel.
He describes American support for Israel’s security as “unwavering”.
Sweden’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Tobias Billström speaks out in a written message to TT:
“The government strongly condemns Iran’s attack on Israel. The already deteriorating security situation in the region risks escalating and entailing very serious consequences.”
He also writes that the government is “following the situation very closely”.
Celebrating in Tehran. Photo: Vahid Salemi / AP
The attack on Israel was celebrated by protesters who gathered in Tehran overnight.
People lit flares and displayed the Palestinian flag in the crowd at Palestine Square in the Iranian capital.
The military IDF shows on a map where the air raid sirens sounded in Israel.
Show more posts
Images from Jerusalem showed explosions in the night sky just before 01:00.
It was probably the Israeli air defense that shot down incoming drones or robots, according to CNN.
Sirens are sounding all over Israel.
The attack, which is believed to have lasted several hours, had begun.
During the night, warplanes patrolled the airspace over Jerusalem, waiting for new objects to shoot down.
“Attack from all sides”
“You might hear explosions from gunshots or debris falling.” writes Israeli army spokesman Daniel Hagari in a statement, urging Israelis to follow instructions and take cover when the sirens are heard.
“This is a difficult and dangerous escalation”.
The message from Iran in the late evening was dramatic.
“Iranian drones began crossing Iraqi airspace and approached Syria and Jordan. Soon the missile attack will begin,” stated Iranian state-controlled media.
It is the first time that Iran has attacked Israel from its own territory.
It is stated that the attack is coming “from all sides”. Dozens of drones are said to have been sent “against targets in occupied territory”.
expand-left
fullscreen Drones and robots are said to have been fired from Iran, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Yemen.
Synchronized attack
According to information to CNN, it is about more than a hundred drones.
Just before 11:30 p.m., information came that some of the drones had already been neutralized on the way to Israel.
Experts feared last night that the sheer scale of the attack would overwhelm Israeli air defenses.
The slower drones are used as a distraction for the Israeli air defense – and then synchronized with faster cruise robots, The New York Times reports.
Shortly before midnight Swedish time, Iran stated that it had also sent off a first wave of ballistic robots against Israel.
Fearing revenge for revenge
– The drones are not the big problem. They can be shot down before entering Israel. But if Hezbollah fires hundreds of rockets at the same time. And then cruise robots. It’s troubling, says retired general Mark Hertling on CNN.
– And what happens next? What will be Israel’s response?
The latter question is asked with fear by the population of Iran, writes The New York Times.
Many believe that the Iranian revenge will degenerate into war when Israel in turn retaliates. The Iranian currency has been falling daily since the regime vowed to avenge the Israeli attack on Iranian generals at the embassy in Damascus.
Overnight, Iran’s Defense Minister Mohammad Reza Ashtiani threatened countries in the region on state television to help Israel respond to the attacks.
– Countries that give their airspace or territory to Israel to attack Iran will be met with a strong response from us, he said.
expand-left
full screen Israel sends up anti-aircraft robots against drones above Jerusalem. Photo: Sam Mednick / AP
Crisis meeting in the war cabinet
Israel overnight evacuated military bases, closed its airspace, banned crowds in some parts of the country and prepared to shoot down the drones it says were sent from western Iran and western Iraq.
Israel’s war cabinet began a crisis meeting at 10 p.m. Swedish time.
The US stated last night that it stands by Israel in this.
– Iran has launched an airborne attack on Israel. President Biden is constantly updated on the situation by his national security team and will sit in on meetings with them at the White House. His staff is in constant contact with Israel, other partners and allies, said Adrienne Watson, spokeswoman for the National Security Council at the White House.
Back in the White House
Joe Biden canceled his weekend leave due to the crisis. At 23.02 Swedish time he was back in the White House.
The rapid escalation of the crisis created confusion in the United States. The television channels broadcast that Joe Biden would give a speech to the people on the occasion of Iran’s attack.
That announcement was later retracted citing “a mistake”.
The origin of the crisis is the Israeli attack on the Iranian embassy in Damascus on April 1 – which it has since repeatedly vowed to avenge.
Killed Iranian generals
Three generals and four other senior figures in the Quds Force, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard’s special forces, were killed in the bombing in connection with a meeting.
Iranian government sources have told the NYT that it believes the revenge attack on Israel can be accepted by the outside world because it is a response to an attack on an Iranian embassy.
However, Israel believes that the embassy in Damascus was only a front for Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, as the high-ranking victims in the attack show.
Ali Vaez, head of the Iranian branch of the International Crisis Group, which works to avoid deadly conflicts, told The New York Times:
– Iran and Israel are taking the region to a completely new level. It is difficult to exaggerate how dangerous this moment is and how catastrophic the consequences can be.