Israel launches air strikes on Iran
Iran could unleash its sleeper cells in the west in response to Israel’s strikes, an expert has warned amid a “dangerous escalation” in the conflict.
Iran could unleash its sleeper cells in the west in response to Israel’s strikes, a former British commander has warned as Hezbollah declares a “dangerous escalation” in the conflict.
Colonel Richard Kemp, who led British forces in Afghanistan, told The Sun it’s a “real danger” that he believes will become a reality when Tehran and its proxies decide to act.
He said Iran and Hezbollah could “activate” sleeper cells across Europe to launch attacks against the UK and US at any time.
It comes as Israel launched a wave of revenge strikes into Iran in response to its unprecedented attacks earlier this month.
Colonel Kemp expressed concerns that Iran is potentially gearing up to attack Israel with its global network of sleeper cells – overseen by the fanatical Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
These types of attacks may include car bomb attacks outside Israeli embassies – carried out by Iran-backed terrorists such as Hezbollah.
Although Hezbollah’s leadership has decimated in Lebanon, the terror organisation has sleeper cells elsewhere – including in Europe, Colonel Kemp said.
“Hezbollah and its IRGC sponsors have a massive network, in many, many countries. That network does a number of things,” he told The Sun.
“It provides funding for Hezbollah – there are fundraising operations here in the UK and other countries in Europe that raise funds and get them to Hezbollah.
“But there is also a network of sleeper cells inside European countries – including here in the UK – which have been established for a long time.
“They will be activated at the right moment when Hezbollah or the IRGC decide that’s the time to do so.”
Meanwhile, Lebanon’s Hezbollah warned Saturday of a “dangerous escalation” in the region, saying Washington bears “full responsibility” for the “treacherous” raids on Iran launched by its Israeli ally.
“Hezbollah strongly condemns the treacherous Zionist aggression against the Islamic Republic of Iran and considers it a dangerous escalation at the level of the entire region,” Hezbollah said in a statement.
The US “bears full responsibility for the massacres, tragedies and pain” caused by Israel, it added.
The Israeli strikes were also condemned by Lebanon’s foreign ministry, which described them as a “violation of Iran’s sovereignty and a serious threat to regional” security.
Iran’s military said that only radar systems were damaged in the latest pre-dawn Israeli strikes on Tehran and other provinces and said it was prioritising a ceasefire in Gaza and Lebanon.
“Thanks to the timely performance of the country’s air defences, the attacks caused limited damage and a few radar systems were damaged,” the armed forces general staff said in a statement read out on state television.
“A large number of missiles were intercepted and enemy aircraft were prevented from entering the country’s airspace,” the statement said.
Israeli aircraft were reduced to firing a “small number of long-range missiles with very light warheads from a distance”, inside the US-patrolled airspace of neighbouring Iraq, it added.
The general staff held back from any threat of immediate retaliation.
“While reserving its legal and legitimate right to respond at the appropriate moment, Iran is prioritising the establishment of a lasting ceasefire in Gaza and Lebanon,” it said.
The death toll in Israel’s strikes on military bases in Iran has risen to four, the Iranian army said.
“Two more soldiers... have succumbed to their wounds and died,” the official IRNA news agency reported, citing an army statement.
US President Joe Biden said he hopes “this is the end” after Israeli warplanes struck military bases and missile sites in several Iranian provinces, in retaliation for a missile barrage earlier this month.
“It looks like they didn’t hit anything other than military targets,” Mr Biden told reporters. “I hope that this is the end.”
Israel launches air strikes on Iran
Israel says it has completed a series of “precise strikes on military targets” in Iran — in a major escalation in the Middle East.
An attack on Iran has been anticipated since the Islamic nation launched nearly 200 ballistic missiles on Israel almost a month ago.
The Israeli military said on Saturday it had struck the Islamic republic’s missile manufacturing facilities, surface-to-air missile arrays and other aerial capabilities across several areas of the country.
“Based on intelligence, IAF (air force) aircraft struck missile manufacturing facilities used to produce the missiles that Iran fired at the State of Israel over the last year,” the military said in a statement.
Iranian state TV said “strong explosions” were heard around the capital Tehran, without specifying the cause of the blasts.
“Minutes ago, the sound of strong explosions were heard from around Tehran, the source of these sounds is not yet clear,” a state TV presenter said.
It later said “six loud blasts” were heard in areas of Tehran.
In an earlier statement, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed that it had begun to launch strikes against Iran.
“In response to months of continuous attacks from the regime in Iran against the state of Israel — right now the Israel Defense Forces is conducting precise strikes on military targets in Iran,” the IDF said in a statement posted to X.
Iranian media however has reported the loud explosions in Tehran were due to “air defence activity” and that no bombs had hit the city.
Despite this, the nation has closed its airspace amid the Israeli strikes, according to the country’s state media agency Irna.
The country cancelled all flights until further notice, a spokesperson for Iran’s Civil Aviation Organisation told the outlet.
Since the deadliest attack in its history on October 7, 2023, Israel has been fighting Iran-backed Hamas in Gaza.
It has since broadened the scope of its operations to Lebanon, vowing to secure its northern border after nearly a year of cross-border attacks by Iran-backed Hezbollah.
“Our defensive and offensive capabilities are fully mobilised,” the Israeli military said in a statement.
Military spokesman Daniel Hagari in a separate statement called on the people to be “alert and vigilant”.
US urges Iran to ‘cease attacks’ on Israel
The United States urged Iran on Saturday to stop attacking Israel to break the cycle of violence after Israel launched strikes against the Islamic republic in retaliation for a missile barrage.
“We urge Iran to cease its attacks on Israel so that this cycle of fighting can end without further escalation,” US National Security Council spokesman Sean Savett told reporters.
“Their response was an exercise in self-defense and specifically avoided populated areas and focused solely on military targets, contrary to Iran’s attack against Israel that targeted Israel’s most populous city.”
Stressing that the United States did not participate in the operation, he said “it is our aim to accelerate diplomacy and de-escalate tensions in the Middle East region”.
A senior administration official said President Joe Biden and his national security team have worked with the “Israelis over recent weeks to encourage Israel to conduct a response that was targeted and proportional with low risk of civilian harm”.
“And that appears to have been precisely what transpired this evening,” the official told reporters.
President Biden had encouraged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “to design a response that served to deter further attacks against Israel while reducing risks of further escalation, and that is our objective”.
Blasts reported in Tehran
Several Tehran residents reported hearing “strong and loud sounds” around the capital, the official IRNA news agency said.
The blasts were first heard around 2.15am local time, mainly to the west of the city, it said.
Israel has vowed to respond to Iran’s missile attack on October 1.
Iran’s state TV said Saturday that operations at Tehran’s airports including Imam Khomeini International airport were “normal”, after it reported several explosions around the capital.
“Operations at Imam Khomeini International Airport and Mehrabad Airport are normal and they continue to operate according to the schedule,” the state TV presenter said, citing the chiefs of Mehrabad and Imam Khomeini airports.
Iranian media reported there is “no fire or explosion” at Tehran’s major oil refinery.
President Biden had warned Israel against hitting Iranian nuclear or oil facilities in an effort to prevent an escalation of the conflict that could lead to a major war between Iran and Israel. A strike on oil facilities would also cause the price of oil to spike at the worst possible time for Mr Biden — less than two weeks from the presidential election.
Iran had in recent weeks warned that any attack on its “infrastructure” would provoke an “even stronger response”, while Revolutionary Guards general Rassul Sanairad said an attack on nuclear or energy sites would cross a red line.
In a possible indication of the scope of Saturday’s strike, Syrian state news agency SANA said Syrian air defences had intercepted what it described as “hostile targets” near the capital city, Damascus.
“Our anti-aircraft defence is confronting hostile targets in the skies around Damascus,” SANA said on Telegram.
It also reported “sounds of explosions” in the vicinity of Damascus, though the origin of those blasts was unclear.
Iran claims things are all quiet in Tehran
Pictures and video on Iran’s semi-official regime media show deathly quiet on the streets of Tehran.
It is claiming the loud explosions were due to “air defence activity” in the city, and the air defence successfully operated during this incident.
Bahman Kalbasi, of BBC Persian, however said this was a typical response from Iran when it has been the target of an attack.
“It could be a face-saving way for them to end this tit-for-tat,” he said.
Why is Israel attacking Iran?
Israel has been fighting Iran-backed Hamas in Gaza since the deadliest attack in its history on October 7, 2023, which killed 1,206 people, mostly civilians, according to official Israeli figures.
It has since broadened the scope of its operations to Lebanon, vowing to secure its northern border after nearly a year of attacks launched by Iran-backed Hezbollah in support of Hamas.
Iran’s October 1 strike, its second direct attack on Israel, came after an Israeli air raid killed Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah and Revolutionary Guards general Abbas Nilforoushan in Lebanon on September 27.
It also followed the killing of Hamas’s political leader, Ismail Haniyeh, on July 31 in Tehran in an attack widely blamed on Israel.
The rapid escalation of violence has raised fears across the region of a wider war, pitting Israel against Iran and the allies it dubs the “axis of resistance”.
— with AFP
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