Iran has launched its promised waves of death against Israel.
Officials of both nations confirmed that a wave of drones had been launched, according to the Associated Press.
Iran had vowed to retaliate against Israel after an April 1 attack in Syria killed several officers of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard.
The direct attack on Israel from Iran, contrary to Iran’s usual habit of using proxy groups to do its work, was a landmark in the destabilization of the Middle East, marking the first direct attack from Iran on Israel.
Iran’s IRNA news agency announced that the Revolutionary Guard said it launched “dozens of drones and missiles towards the occupied territories and positions of the Zionist regime.”
The drones will take hours to reach Israel, which has vowed to resist the attack. The drone attack began shortly after 4:30 p.m. Eastern Time.
A report in The New York Times noted that “Current and former American officials said it is likely that Iran will try to synchronize the drone attack with faster moving missiles, which would be launched later. The slow moving drones, the former official said, could be used to distract Israeli defenses.”
The missile launch began shortly before 6 p.m. Eastern Time.
Iranian state media says Tehran has launched a first wave of ballistic missiles at Israel.
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NBC reported that more than 100 drones have been launched.
Iran is expected to follow the drones with waves of cruise missiles and ballistic missiles, NBC reported, citing a U.S. defense official.
The NBC report said that the U.S. and Israel have developed a joint defense plan, which relies in part on the USS Carney and other American resources.
In recent months, the Carney has been in the Red Sea where it has staved off attacks from Houthi rebels using drones and missiles.
The attack will “unfold over a number of hours,” National Security Council representative Adrienne Watson said in a statement, according to NBC.
“The defense and offense systems of the Israeli Air Force are on alert, and dozens of planes are in the skies — prepared and ready,” Israel Defense Forces spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, said, according to the Times of Israel.
“We have an excellent aerial defense array, but the defense is not hermetic,” he said.
“Iran and Israel are taking the region into uncharted waters. It is difficult to overstate how perilous this moment is, and how disastrous its consequences could prove,” Ali Vaez, Iran director of the International Crisis Group, said, according to The New York Times.
