What we know about Iran’s missile attack on Israel – and how the US responded

Fears are growing of a wider war in the Middle East after Iran fired a barrage of missiles at Israel on Tuesday (Oct 1), prompting vows of retaliation. 
Sirens sounded across Israel as the entire population was told to move into bomb shelters.
“Iran made a big mistake tonight – and it will pay for it,” said Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu.
Here’s what we know about the attack, the reactions to it and what could happen next.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said the assault was in retaliation for the killing of Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut last week and Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in late July.
Tensions between arch-rivals Israel and Iran have been growing since the start of the Gaza war, following Hamas’ unprecedented attack on Israel on Oct 7, 2023.
That fight has drawn in Iran-backed groups such as Hezbollah – and Iran itself.
In April, Iran fired a wave of drones and missiles at Israel in the wake of an air strike that hit Tehran’s diplomatic mission in Damascus. The embassy attack killed seven Revolutionary Guards, two of them generals.
In recent weeks, violence has escalated in Lebanon, with deadly pager explosions that Hezbollah blamed on Israel. Israel had also announced limited ground operations against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon. 
According to the Israeli military, Iran fired about 180 missiles towards Israel.
The attack was about twice as large in terms of the number of ballistic missiles launched, said the Pentagon.
Israel’s air defences were activated and most missiles were intercepted, said Israeli Defense Forces spokesperson Daniel Hagari.
Central Israel received “a small number” of hits, he added. The Israeli military published a video of a school in the central city of Gadera that was heavily damaged by an Iranian missile.
No injuries were reported in Israel, but one man was killed in the occupied West Bank, authorities there said.
Israel’s military chief Herzi Halevi said on Tuesday that the Iranian barrage had been blunted partly by “a very strong aerial defence array”. 
The Iron Dome air defence system, which counters drones and projectiles with a shorter range, has intercepted thousands of rockets since it went into operation in 2011. 
The system has an interception rate of around 90 per cent, according to Israeli defence firm Rafael, which helped design it. 
The Iron Dome sits alongside other missile defence systems like the Arrow, which counters longer-range ballistic missiles, as well as the David’s Sling – a joint US-Israeli system for medium-range rocket or missile attacks.
US Navy warships also fired about a dozen interceptors against Iranian missiles headed toward Israel, the Pentagon said.
Israel vowed consequences for the onslaught.
“Iran made a big mistake tonight – and it will pay for it,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said hours after the attack, and warned: “Whoever attacks us, we attack them.”
In a separate statement, Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, who was at the command and control centre monitoring the interception of Iranian missiles, also vowed to punish Iran for the attack.
“Iran has not learned a simple lesson – those who attack the state of Israel, pay a heavy price,” he said in a statement issued by his office.
“We will act. Iran will soon feel the consequences of their actions. The response will be painful,” Israel’s UN Ambassador Danny Danon told reporters.
The White House similarly promised “severe consequences” for Iran, and spokesman Jake Sullivan told a Washington briefing that the US would “work with Israel to make that the case”.
Sullivan did not specify what those consequences might be, but he stopped short of urging restraint by Israel as the US did in April when Iran carried out a drone and missile attack on Israel.
President Joe Biden said the US was “fully supportive” of Israel after the missile attack, adding that he would discuss a response with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Asked by reporters what the response towards Iran would be, Biden replied: “That’s in active discussion right now. That remains to be seen.”
World leaders have urged Iran and Israel to step back from the brink.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned the “broadening conflict in the Middle East”.
With Israel’s conflict with Hezbollah broadening alongside its war with Hamas in Gaza, Guterres slammed “escalation after escalation” in the region.
“This must stop. We absolutely need a ceasefire.”
Countries like Spain, Germany, Japan and the United Kingdom have also condemned Iran’s strike and called for all actors to show restraint and not escalation.
Iran said early on Wednesday that its missile attack on Israel was finished barring further provocation.
“Our action is concluded unless the Israeli regime decides to invite further retaliation. In that scenario, our response will be stronger and more powerful,” Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said in a post on X.
Iran’s foreign ministry also said its operation was defensive and only directed at Israeli military and security facilities.
However, any Israeli response would be met with “vast destruction” of Israeli infrastructure, Iran’s General Staff of the Armed Forces said in a statement carried by state media.
He also promised to target the regional assets of any Israeli ally that got involved.