Buildings Damaged After Israeli Attacks in Tehran, Iran

Описание: Iran fired hundreds of ballistic missiles against Israel following an unprecedented direct attack on its nuclear facilities, ramping up a conflict between sworn enemies that threatens to engulf the Middle East and disrupt global oil supplies.

Multiple waves of missiles targeting Israeli cities amount to the most forceful step yet by Tehran since Israel’s overnight raids killed top Iranian generals and badly damaged key military infrastructure. 

Israel said it identified missiles launched from the Islamic Republic and reported explosions from interceptions and falling debris from incoming projectiles. There was dramatic video footage of at least one large explosion in Tel Aviv, and reports of explosions over Jerusalem.

The extent to which Israel’s air defenses were pierced remains to be seen, with US forces helping to intercept and shoot down Iranian attacks. Markets took another hit from the surge in tensions: The S&P 500 lost more than 1%, wiping out this week’s advance. West Texas Intermediate crude futures surged more than 7%, the most since March 2022. Gold and the dollar rose.

In Iran, state media reported that air defenses were reactivated in expectation of a response.

The intense volleys marked a turning point for both nations, testing new limits in terms of their aggression and willingness to escalate.

When the pair targeted each other last year, there was a greater time lag and a sense that after an exchange of fire, there would be a dé​tente. This time, Israel has indicated this is an operation that could last weeks.

This poses an existential problem for Iran, and a question of whether it can match its fiery rhetoric with actions. Israel has dramatically exposed its weaknesses, decimated its proxies and taken out key leaders. 

Additional escalations — particularly any targeting of American military or diplomatic facilities in the region — could rally domestic political support, but could dramatically intensify the conflict. It was unclear if Tehran was entertaining last-resort options such as blocking the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most vital oil arteries, in a scenario that investors fear the most.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei vowed to “act forcefully” in a pre-recorded video message carried by state TV. His statement was released after Iran started its retaliation.

Unlike previous responses, this one came much faster. Given Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has followed through on his long-promised threat to dismantle Iran’s nuclear program, Iran was feeling the pressure to find a commensurate answer. 

So far, Iran has chosen to keep the US out of the conflict — a decision that an analysis by Bloomberg Economics suggested was the most likely since Tehran can’t afford to go to war with the world’s biggest economy and mightiest military. The backdrop are indirect nuclear talks between the Islamic Republic and the US, with a sixth round of negotiations scheduled to take place on Sunday.

Iranian lawmaker Alaeddin Boroujerdi told state television on Saturday that talks with the US are “futile” at the moment and suspending them is the logical decision.

The damage to its Iran’s standing in the region from the attacks is real. The head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Hossein Salami, and the military’s chief of staff, Mohammad Bagheri, were both killed in Israeli strikes. At least two other senior IRGC members died and several nuclear facilities were targeted.

Amir Ali Hajizadeh, commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Aerospace division, was also slain in the Israeli actions, Iranian state TV reported.

Iran informed the International Atomic Energy Agency that Israel struck the nuclear sites at Fordow and Isfahan as part of its wave of attacks in the last 24 hours, Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi told the UN Security Council on Friday.

Grossi said the IAEA doesn’t have information beyond indications that military activity took place around those facilities.

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