Iran 'will pay' for missile attack on Israel, Netanyahu warns

Iran said early on Wednesday that its missile attack on Israel was over barring further provocation, while Israel and the U.S. promised to retaliate against Tehran as fears of a wider war intensified.

Washington said it would work with longtime ally Israel to make sure Iran faced "severe consequences" for Tuesday's attack, which Israel said involved more than 180 ballistic missiles.

The United Nations Security Council scheduled a meeting about the Middle East for Wednesday, and the European Union called for an immediate ceasefire.

"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 early on Wednesday.

Israel renewed its bombardment early on Wednesday of Beirut's southern suburbs, a stronghold of the Iran-backed armed Hezbollah group, with at least a dozen airstrikes against what it said were targets belonging the group.

Large plumes of smoke were seen rising from parts of the suburbs. Israel issued new evacuation orders for the area, which have largely emptied after days of heavy strikes.

Largest such attack by Iran

Iran's attack marked its biggest-ever military blow against Israel.

Sirens sounded across the country and explosions rattled Jerusalem and the Jordan River valley as the entire population was told to move into bomb shelters.

No injuries were reported in Israel, but one man was killed in the occupied West Bank, authorities there said.

Iran described the campaign as defensive and solely aimed at Israeli military facilities. Iran's state news agency said three Israeli military bases had been targeted.

Tehran said its assault was a response to Israeli killings of militant leaders and aggression in Lebanon against Hezbollah and in Gaza.

Israeli air defences were activated and most missiles were intercepted "by Israel and a defensive coalition led by the United States," Israeli Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said in a video on X.

WATCH |Destruction on the ground:

Scenes of fear, destruction on the ground as Iran attacks Israel

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Duration 0:54

People ran for shelter in Jerusalem as sirens sounded amid Iran's aerial attack on Israel Tuesday. One rocket hit an elementary school in Gedera, southern Israel, and rescue services officers and workers were seen at the site afterward, clearing the area.

'A severe and dangerous escalation'

"Iran's attack is a severe and dangerous escalation," Hagari said in the video.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to hit back.

"Iran made a big mistake tonight and it will pay for it," he said at the outset of an emergency political security cabinet meeting late on Tuesday, according to a statement.

Iran's General Staff of the Armed Forces said in a statement carried by state media that any Israeli response would be met with "vast destruction" of Israeli infrastructure. It also said it would target regional assets of any Israeli ally that got involved.

Fears that Iran and the U.S. could be drawn into a regional war have risen with Israel's growing assault on Lebanon in the past two weeks, including the start of a ground operation there on Monday, and its year-old conflict in the Gaza Strip.

Iran's forces on Tuesday used hypersonic Fattah missiles for the first time, and 90 per centof its missiles successfully hit their targets in Israel, Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps said.

Israel's Hagari said central and southern Israel received limited strikes. A video released by the military showed a school in the central city of Gadera heavily damaged by an Iranian missile.

U.S. navy warships fired about a dozen interceptors against Iranian missiles headed toward Israel, the Pentagon said. Britain said its forces played a part "in attempts to prevent further escalation in the Middle East," without elaborating.

U.S. President Joe Biden expressed full U.S. support for Israel and described Iran's attack as "ineffective." U.S.Vice-President Kamala Harris, the Democratic candidate for U.S. president, backed Biden's stance and said the U.S. would not hesitate to defend its interests against Iran.

"We will act. Iran will soon feel the consequences of their actions. The response will be painful," Israel's UNAmbassador Danny Danon told reporters.

The White House similarly promised "severe consequences" for Iran and spokesman Jake Sullivan told a Washington briefing the U.S. 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 U.S. did in April when Iran carried out a drone and missile attack on Israel. The Pentagon said Tuesday's airstrikes were about twice the size of April's assault.

WATCH | Iran's attack on Israel:

Debris from intercepted missiles streaks across sky over Jerusalem

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Duration 1:41

Falling debris from intercepted missiles streaked across the night sky over Jerusalem on Tuesday after Iran fired dozens of missiles into Israel.

Canada condemnsattack

In a statement on social media, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said "Canada unequivocally condemns Iran's reckless attack against Israel."

Trudeau said Canada "fully" supports Israel's right to defend itself, but also repeated calls for de-escalation "across the region, for the safety of all civilians."

The House of Commons will meet for an emergency debate this evening to discuss the situation in Lebanon.

"At this critical moment for Israel and for the region, the State of Israel calls on Canada to stand with it as a fellow liberal democracy," Iddo Moed, Israel's ambassador to Canada, said in a statement.

Shortly before the Iranian attack,Israeli police separately reported that at least six people werekilled in a suspected shooting and stabbingterror attack in Tel Aviv.

WATCH | Sirens sound in Tel Aviv:

Sirens sound in Tel Aviv, flashes over skyline

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Duration 0:43

Israel's military says Iran has fired missiles at the country, sparking air raid sirens nationwide. Reuters cameras captured images of what appear to be missiles, as well as the blare of the sirens.

UNSecretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned what he called "escalation after escalation," saying: "This must stop. We absolutely need a ceasefire."

French President Emmanuel Macron said in a statement that he strongly condemns Iran's attacksadding that, in a sign of its commitment to Israel's security, it mobilized its military resources in the Middle East on Wednesday.

Macron reiterated France's demand that Hezbollah cease its terrorist actions against Israel and its population, but also wished for Lebanon's sovereignty and territorial integrity to be reinstated in strict compliance with a UN Security Council resolution.

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell also called for an immediate regional ceasefire. "The dangerous cycle of attacks and retaliation risks spiraling out of control," he posted on X.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer spoke with the leaders of Germany and France, and they agreed on a need for restraint from all sides, Downing Street said.

Nearly 1,900 people have been killed and more than 9,000 wounded in Lebanon in almost a year of cross-border fighting, most in the past two weeks, according to Lebanese government statistics on Tuesday.

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