Iran warned by US it faces 'severe consequences' after missile attack on Israel

The PM took a small number of questions from the gathered media after delivering a statement on Iran's missile attack (see previous post).

Sir Keir Starmer was asked if there was any British involvement in repelling the attack on Israel and whether the UK would be willing to be involved in the future.

But he gave little away, saying in response: "This, as you will appreciate, is an evolving situation, but what I will say is that we stand with Israel and her right to self-defence and any relevant updates will be provided in due course.

The PM said his focus was on the need to find a political solution to the crisis.

"We have to find a route to de-escalate on all fronts. And in the end, the only solution here is a political solution. So my calls have been about the importance of creating space and the conditions for that de-escalation and to find that political route forward," he said.

Sir Keir Starmer has been speaking from Downing Street in the last few moments, giving his reaction to Iran's missile attack on Israel.

The prime minister said the UK "utterly condemns" attempts from Tehran to "harm innocent Israelis" and such an attack "cannot be tolerated".

"We stand with Israel, and recognise her right to self defence in the face of this aggression," he says.

"Iran must stop these attacks, together with its proxies like Hezbollah."

The PM added he is "deeply concerned" the Middle East is on the brink of a wider conflict, repeating his call for any Britons who are in Lebanon to leave the country now.

Foreign secretary David Lammy has meanwhile warned against a "cycle of escalation" as he condemned the attack.

One of the key questions in the wake of Iran's missile attack is when - and how - Israel will respond.

In its latest comments after the attack, Israeli military spokesman Daniel Hagari has said the Israeli Air Force will "strike powerfully in the Middle East" tonight.

"The Israeli and US air defence systems operated effectively" on the barrage of Iranian missiles, he said in an update.

"Iran carried out a serious act tonight and is pushing the Middle East to an escalation," he adds.

"Tonight’s event will have consequences."

Iran's missile attack on Israel is a "strong response to the aggression of the Zionist regime", its president has said.

In a post on X, Masoud Pezeshkian said: "This is just part of our capability, do not get into a confrontation with Iran."

Iran fired a salvo of almost 200 ballistic missiles at Israel in retaliation for Israel's campaign against Tehran's Hezbollah allies in Lebanon.

The development signals a major escalation in the conflict and follows two weeks of intensive Israeli airstrikes in Lebanon as well as a string of assassinations of Hezbollah commanders, including the militant group’s leader Hassan Nasrallah on Friday.

Iran's Revolutionary Guards used hypersonic 'Fattah' missiles for the first time in its attack on Israel, the country state TV is reporting.

The INSA agency says the target of the missile attack was three Israeli military bases.

Iranian media earlier claimed that 80% of the almost 200 missiles launched had hit their targets.

The latest claim from Iran's Revolutionary Guards is that 90% of them were on target.

But Israel has said no injuries have been reported so far. In addition, the US has described the attack as "ineffective".

A Sky News correspondent was forced to end a live broadcast as she reported from the Israel-Lebanon border amid Iran's missile strikes.

"It was actually a rocket that was fired in our direction, because we're very close to the Lebanese border - and you've obviously got simultaneously this Israeli ground offensive that's taking place," the channel's security and defence editor Deborah Haynes later explained.

"We've been hearing gunfire from one direction - missile fire from the other direction. The first we realised that the attack was actually under way was when we saw these streaks of orange high up in the sky above us.

"Clearly the missiles we saw were intended to go much deeper into Israel.

"We then also witnessed intercepts taking place where you could see the glow of an orange ball moving up to impact the missile coming in the other direction."

Sir Keir Starmer was on the phone with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu when Iran launched its missile attack, Downing Street has revealed.

A Number spokesperson said: "The Prime Minister spoke to Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu this afternoon, and they discussed the escalating situation across the Middle East.

"The Prime Minister condemned Iran’s attack on Israel today in the strongest terms, which began during the leaders’ conversation, and expressed the UK’s steadfast commitment to Israeli security and the protection of civilians.

"During the call, the Prime Minister also underlined the importance of a ceasefire in Lebanon to allow space for a political solution in line with UNSC Resolution 1701.

"The Prime Minister also raised the situation in Gaza and the importance of a ceasefire and action to bring home the hostages."

While Hezbollah is the most powerful and well-armed of Iran's proxies - the so-called "axis of resistance" spreads far and wide.

Iran's Revolutionary Guards and its elite Quds Force give out millions of dollars in funding to arm and train militia groups throughout the Middle East to assert power in the region.

The axis is a key part of Iran's foreign policy, which aims to destabilise "rivals" such as Israel and Saudi Arabia.

Read the full explainer looking at which groups across the Middle East are supported by Tehran from Sky News here

We've had an early assessment of Iran's missile attack on Israel from Washington in the last few minutes.

President Biden's national security adviser Jake Sullivan says the US' view at this stage is that Tehran's attack - which saw almost 200 missiles launched - was "defeated and ineffective".

However, he stressed the situation was still "fluid".

Speaking at the White House, Sullivan said the US coordinated with Israel's military to repel the attack and will work with the country on its response to what he described as a "significant escalation".

He warned there will be "severe consequences" for Iran.

Hamas has praised Iran's missile attack on Israel, saying the salvo of almost 200 missiles avenges the deaths of its leader Ismail Haniyeh, Hezbollah's leader Hassan Nasrallah and Abbas Nilforushan, a senior figure in Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

"We congratulate the heroic rocket launch carried out by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in Iran, on large areas of our occupied territories, in response to the occupation's continuing crimes against the peoples of the region, and in retaliation for the blood of our nation’s heroic martyrs," the militant group said.

A “panicked” son waiting for his mother to catch a flight out of Lebanon said he has been “infuriated” by the UK Government’s response to help evacuate non-British family members.

Philip, 28, a British citizen who did not wish to share his or his mother’s surnames, said his Lebanese mother Rita, 55, arrived in Ajaltoun, Keserwan, north of Beirut, in August to visit her uncle who has cancer.

She has a commercial flight booked out of the country on Wednesday, but her son fears a dangerous journey to the airport after the Israeli military began a “limited, localised” military ground offensive in the southern part of the country.

Read the full interview from PA Media here

Dozens of the almost 200 missiles launched by Iran were shot down by Israeli air defences as they flew over Syrian, sources in Syria's army have told Reuters.

Reuters witnesses in the south of Syria also reported seeing projectiles being shot down.

President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris were monitoring the Iranian attack against Israel from the White House Situation Room and receiving regular updates from their national security team, officials said on Tuesday.

The president had directed the US military to aid Israel’s defence against Iranian attacks and shoot down missiles targeting Israel.

Earlier, before the strike began, Biden said the US was prepared to help Israel defend against the Iranian missile attack.

Read the full story from ABC News on how the US is responding to the escalation

We're hearing more from Iran after it launched a missile attack on Israel.

According to Iranian state TV, 80% of the missiles launched hit their targets.

It comes after Israeli army radio reported that close to 200 missiles were launched into the country from Iran.

Despite Tehran's claim about the accuracy of the missiles launched, the Israeli military says no injuries have been reported so far and citizens are able to leave air raid shelters.

The attack has been launched in retaliation for Israel's campaign against Tehran's Hezbollah allies in Lebanon.

Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei remains in a secure location after Tehran fired missiles at Israel, a senior Iranian official has said.

He was moved to a secure location after Israel assassinated Iran's close ally Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah last week.

Khamenei previously said that Nasrallah's death would be avenged and his path in fighting Israel would be pursued by other militants.

Iran's missile attack is over and people can leave air raid shelters, Israel's military has said.

"Following the situational assessment, it was decided that it is now permitted to leave protected spaces in all areas across the country," a statement said.

A spokesman described the attack as "serious" and said it will have "consequences".

"We are on high alert both defensively and offensively," Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said in a TV broadcast.

"We will defend the citizens of the State of Israel. This attack will have consequences. We have plans, and we will operate at the place and time we decide."

No injuries have been reported so far, he added.

In Washington, Joe Biden has said the United States is prepared to help Israel defend itself from Iranian missile attacks.

"We discussed how the United States is prepared to help Israel defend against these attacks, and protect American personnel in the region," Biden said on X about a meeting held with Vice President Kamala Harris and the White House national security team earlier in the day.

These pictures shows projectiles being intercepted by Israel above Tel Aviv as Iran launched its retaliatory strike.

The images have been taken by Getty photographers Menahem Kahan and Jack Guez.

The Israeli military said Tuesday that Iran has fired missiles at Israel, and air raid sirens sounded across the country as residents were ordered to remain close to bomb shelters.

Israel and the United States have warned there would be severe consequences if Iran attacks.

The orders to shelter in place were sent to Israelis' mobile phones and announced on national television. TV stations reported sirens in parts of Jerusalem as well as central Israel.

Read the full story from the Canadian Press.

More updates from Iran where it has emerged that the country's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, gave the order to launch missiles at Israel.

According to Reuters, a senior Iranian official added that Tehran "is fully ready for any retaliation".

Elsewhere, Iran's attack on Israel was described as a "legal, rational, and legitimate response to the terrorist acts," the country's mission to the United Nations in New York posted on X.

"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 mission wrote.

Iran's Revolutionary Guards has said they have launched tens of missiles toward Israel and warned that if Israel retaliated Tehran's response would be "more crushing and ruinous," Iranian state TV reported

The response by Iran, which sponsors Hezbollah, raises fears that war could spill across borders throughout the region, despite efforts by the US, Israel's closest and most powerful ally, to contain it.

The Israeli Defense Forces posted a map on X saying all Israeli civilians were in bomb shelters.

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The US president could not have been clearer.

Asked whether he was comfortable with reports Israel was about to launch a ground invasion into Lebanon, he said: "No. I'm comfortable with them stopping. We should have a ceasefire now."

Israel's response? To launch an invasion anyway.

Read the full story from Sky News.

The Israeli military said on Tuesday that missiles had been launched from Iran towards Israel, and that Israel's home front command had provided life-saving guidelines to people in various parts of the country.

Global markets sank and oil soared Tuesday on fears of escalating conflict in the Middle East.

US and European stocks turned sharply lower after US officials said Iran was preparing an attack against Israel.

"The United States has indications that Iran is preparing to imminently launch a ballistic missile attack against Israel," a senior White House official told AFP on condition of anonymity.

Read the full story from AFP.

Israel’s long-threatened ground operation into southern Lebanon appears so far to have been on a far smaller scale and with more modest objectives than had been anticipated from previous statements.

The operation, involving formations from one Israeli division in the first instance, appears limited and has largely avoided any direct clashes between Hezbollah and Israeli troops.

Israel has said its main objective is to eliminate the threat of a 7 October-style incursion by Hezbollah into Israel’s north – one of the main fears that drove Israelis out of northern communities in the early stages of the war in Gaza.

Read the full story from The Guardian.

Traffic is forming as people attempt to leave southern Lebanon.

What happened on day one of Israel's ground incursion?

In the days since Israel intensified its campaign against Hezbollah in Lebanon, including the strike that killed the militant group's leader Hassan Nasrallah, Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels have been quick to show they are an important player in the complex conflicts convulsing the Middle East.

In a brazen attack on Saturday, the Houthis fired a ballistic missile at Israel's main airport as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was arriving back from New York, where he had addressed the United Nations. On Monday, they threatened “escalating military operations” to target Israel after apparently shooting down a U.S. military drone flying over Yemen.

Read the full story from AP.

Israeli airstrikes that wiped out Hezbollah’s top leadership and left its internal security in tatters are a devastating blow to Iran’s decades-long project of wielding power in the Middle East through proxies, former U.S. intelligence officials and analysts say.

In a matter of weeks, Iran and its most important proxy, Hezbollah, have suffered catastrophic security failures. Israel sabotaged the group’s communications, took out multiple senior figures and killed Hezbollah’s powerful and influential longtime leader, Hassan Nasrallah, who cannot be easily replaced.

Read the full story from NBC News.

A 13-year-old British boy who was rushed home from a holiday in Lebanon on Saturday has described seeing rockets landing all around him on his way to the airport.

Ali, who did not give his surname, said he “couldn’t sleep because the drones were very low.

“It was like having a fly in your ear,” he added.

The youngster was waiting at Heathrow Airport for his 19-year-old sister and grandmother who is in her 90s and are on a flight from Beirut.

“I was at risk of losing my life,” he continued. “There were rockets left, right and centre.

“Little children were scared, but I was OK. It’s sad to see my country like this”.

Ali showed the PA news agency a video he filmed on his way to Beirut Airport on Saturday, showing plumes of smoke rising into the air over the city.

Israeli forces have been carrying out raids into southern Lebanon for months, uncovering Hezbollah tunnels and weapon caches under homes and uncovering invasion plans by the group, Israeli military spokesman Daniel Hagari said on Tuesday.

Hagari said the details were being declassified, hours after Israel announced a ground operation against the Iran-backed Hezbollah in southern Lebanon.

Read the full story from Reuters.

Iran is preparing to launch an "imminent" ballistic missile attack on Israel, according to a senior White House official.

The Pentagon is actively supporting Israel in its preparations to defend agains the attack, according to the official who was not authorized to speak publicly. A direct attack on Israel will carry "severe consequences for Iran," they said.

Read the full story from USA Today.

Almost a year after Israel launched its war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip in retaliation for the Iran-backed group's Oct. 7 terrorist rampage, it announced the beginning of what the Israel Defense Forces said would be "limited, localized, and targeted ground raids" against Iran's much larger, better-armed proxy group Hezbollah in Lebanon.

The ground operations were announced after about two weeks of blistering airstrikes on Hezbollah strongholds in southern Lebanon and the southern suburbs of Lebanon's capital, Beirut, which have killed more than 1,000 people and displaced about 1 million people from their homes, according to Lebanese officials.

Read the full story from CBS.

A 19-year-old British-Lebanese woman has criticised the UK government’s efforts to help people leave the country, branding it as “disgusting”.

Lara, who did not give her surname, said some people were struggling to afford to pay for flights out of Lebanon at short notice.

Asked if the Foreign Office was doing enough, she said: “No, it’s disgusting.”

Lara, who had just arrived on a flight from Beirut at Heathrow Airport with her grandmother said: “People in Lebanon have said goodbye to me in a way they shouldn’t. Like they will never see me again.

“Whenever I hear a bang I think it’s a missile coming towards me.”

Asked about her journey to the airport, she said: “It was terrifying, I didn’t know if I was going to make it.

“What’s going on isn’t something people should be quiet about. Why is history repeating itself?”

IDF spokesperson says Israel must 'destroy' Hezbollah attack infrastructure.

A United Nations worker has said the situation in Lebanon is the worst he has seen in the 13 years he has worked there.

The man, who did not want to be named, had just arrived at Heathrow Airport having retired from his job as planned.

He said explosions and shelling have significantly increased over the last few weeks in the city of Tyre where he was working.

“It’s rough, lots of civilian areas have been hit,” he said.

“I’ve not seen this intensity before, it’s bad.

“Some have moved away from Tyre to Beirut further from the border.

“But people are stoic,” he added.

Israeli troops have started an invasion of Lebanon – crossing the border to carry out “targeted ground raids” against Hezbollah across a number of villages.

Since the 7 October attack inside Israel by Hamas and Israel’s subsequent invasion of Gaza, Hamas-ally Hezbollah and Israel have traded fire almost daily over the northern border with Lebanon.

Two weeks ago, a series of exploding device attacks in which Hezbollah pagers and walkie talkies blew up around Lebanon – an attack widely believed to have been carried out by Israel – the conflict has seen a major escalation.

Read the full story from The Independent.

David Lammy is calling for ceasefires in both Lebanon and Gaza, urging Israel and Iran to avoid the risk of a regional war in the Middle East.

He told reporters: “We have been warning for months that we risk a regional war with escalation on all sides and that is why we want to see an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and an immediate ceasefire in Lebanon.

"It is politics, discussion and diplomacy that will solve the problems before us and we urge, with partners, restraint at this time.”

The foreign secretary said that the government will continue to "speak to the Israelis and other actors" in the region.

Read the full storyfrom PA here.

Israeli troops have started an invasion of Lebanon – crossing the border to carry out “targeted ground raids” against Hezbollah across a number of villages.

Since the 7 October attack inside Israel by Hamas and Israel’s subsequent invasion of Gaza, Hamas-ally Hezbollah and Israel have traded fire almost daily over the northern border with Lebanon.

Two weeks ago, a series of exploding device attacks in which Hezbollah pagers and walkie talkies blew up around Lebanon – an attack widely believed to have been carried out by Israel – the conflict has seen a major escalation.

Read the full story from The Independent.

The situation in Lebanon could become “much, much more dangerous”, Foreign Secretary David Lammy warned as he urged Britons in the country to leave.

The UK Government has chartered a flight out of Lebanon for Britons wanting to escape as Israel said it had begun a “limited, localised” military ground offensive in the southern part of the country.

The charter aircraft on Wednesday follows efforts to secure seats on the remaining commercial flights out of Beirut, including one to Heathrow on Tuesday.

Read the full story from PA.

A former British ambassador to Israel and the US said the government would not want the current incursion to be a "prelude" to a full ground invasion and occupation.

Tory leadership hopeful James Cleverly has said he supports Israel's military incursion into Lebanon. The former foreign secretary said that Israel has "the right to defend itself" but that his support comes with the caveat that the country must "continue to adhere to international humanitarian law".

The Israeli military said in the early hours of Tuesday that it had begun a "limited, localised" operation against its Hezbollah targets in the southern part of Lebanon.

Read the full story from MyLondon.

An explosive-loaded drone crashed into one ship Tuesday in the Red Sea as a missile exploded against another, the British military and private security officials said, marking the latest suspected attacks by Yemen’s Houthi rebels.

The attacks likely are the rebels’ first assaults on commercial shipping in weeks as the Israel-Hamas war threatens to become a regional conflict.

Read the full story from AP.

The government confirmed that it has chartered a commercial flight out of Lebanon for Britons wanting to leave amid escalating violence.

The flight is due to leave Beirut-Rafic Hariri International Airport on Wednesday and vulnerable British nationals and their spouses, partners and children under 18 will be prioritised, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office said on Monday night.

Foreign secretary David Lammy said: “The situation in Lebanon is volatile and has potential to deteriorate quickly.

“The safety of British nationals in Lebanon continues to be our utmost priority.

“That’s why the UK government is chartering a flight to help those wanting to leave. It is vital that you leave now as further evacuation may not be guaranteed.”

Israeli airstrikes killed at least 21 people in Gaza on Tuesday, local medics said and fighting ramped up, as the Israeli military said it had been targeting command centres used by its Islamist militant foe Hamas.

Palestinian health officials said at least 13 people, including women and children, were killed in two Israeli strikes on two houses in Nuseirat, one of the enclave's eight historic refugee camps.

There has been no immediate comment by the Israeli army on the two strikes.

Read the full story from Reuters.

Israel has released footage of troops preparing to enter Lebanon.

Israel said intense fighting erupted with Hezbollah in south Lebanon on Tuesday after its paratroopers, commandos and armoured units launched raids at the start of a ground incursion.

The operation follows intense airstrikes that have devastated the group's leadership, including assassinating its chief Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut last week.

The Israeli military said the operations in Lebanon began on Monday night and involved the elite 98th division, which was deployed to the northern front two weeks ago from Gaza where they had been fighting against Hamas for months.

Read the full story from Reuters.