Biden cuts his beach weekend short, rushes back to White House as Iran launches drone attack against Israel

Iran on Saturday evening launched its most anticipated attack on Israel using suicide drones and missiles. The United States is expecting this to be “a major attack,” two senior US officials told NBC News.

US President Joe Biden rushed back to Washington, D.C. from Delaware to “consult with his national security team about events in the Middle East,” the White House claimed, hours before Iran launched drones and missile against Iran.(AP )

The US administration anticipates that Iran will launch over 100 drones, several cruise missiles, and several ballistic missiles on Israeli government locations rather than homes or places of worship.

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Israel and the United States have been working closely together to defend against the attack. “We’re ready. The Israelis are ready,” the officials stated.

Israel confirms ‘planned attack’ by Iran, says tracking all drones

According to a CNN report, Daniel Hagari of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) declared that Israel was monitoring the drones and that it might take hours for them to cross the nation. He advised Israelis to exercise “vigilance”, stating that GPS would not be available in some places.

“In response to the Zionist regime’s crime in attacking the consular section of the Iranian embassy in Damascus, the IRGC’s air force hit certain targets in the territories of the Zionist regime with dozens of drones and missiles,” the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said in a statement, as per Iranian state media.

Hours before Iran launched drones and missile against Iran, White House claimed US President Joe Biden headed back to Washington, D.C. from Delaware to hold a meeting with his national security team about escalating tension and ongoing events in the Middle East.

Also Read: ‘Joe, we’re gonna..’: What went down in the phone call between President Biden and Netanyahu

Netanyahu addresses nation as Israel govt issues guidelines for citizens

According to The Times of Israel, the government has issued new guidelines prohibiting educational activities an assemblies of more than a thousand people.

Additional restrictions have been put in place in the regions bordering Gaza.

Meanwhile, several unconfirmed footage have been circulated online and uploaded to Telegram, showing a large number of Iranian drones, which are known to emit a “lawnmower sound,” buzzing over Iraq, NY POST reported.

Addressing the nation, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared that Israel was already preparing for direct assault and would retaliate appropriately to Iran attack.

“Our defense systems are deployed, and we are prepared for any scenario, both in defense and offense. The State of Israel is strong, the IDF is strong, the public is strong,” he asserted.

Meanwhile, the Foundation for Defense of Democracies’ senior vice president of research, Jonathan Schanzer, said that any direct Iranian drone attack on Israeli territory “will probably” result in a ten-fold reaction.

“If Israel is hit and is hit in a sensitive location, Israel will respond heavily,” he said, adding that the Islamic States launching drone strikes “is obviously a significant escalation. There’s no other way to put this.”

US reiterates ‘our support for Israel’s security is ironclad’

Iran has started attacking Israel from the air, confirmed White House National Security Council Spokesperson Adrienne Watson to CNN and Axios.

He informed that Biden will meet with the national security council this afternoon at the White House and is routinely informed on the situation. The United States is in close contact with various partners and allies as well as Israeli officials, as per the statement.

Also Read: Biden talks tough on Netanyahu’s approach in Gaza: ‘What he’s doing is a mistake’

Stating that it is anticipated that this attack will take several hours to complete, he said: “President Biden has been clear: our support for Israel’s security is ironclad. The United States will stand with the people of Israel and support their defense against these threats from Iran.”

On Friday, two US officials told CBS that Iran was capable of deploying up to 100 drones.

Iran said last year in August that it had developed the Mohajer-10, a sophisticated drone with a 1,240-mile operational range, reported the Times of Israel. These drones can carry loads weighing up to 660 pounds and fly for up to 24 hours.

The Iranian drone attack comes as Iran has been threatening for days to take revenge on Israel for an attack on its diplomatic post in Damascus that resulted in the deaths of a senior Iranian commander and other Revolutionary Guard (IRGC) personnel.

Experts have already warned that Iran’s attack on Israel would lead to another full-scale conflict in the Middle East.