US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said that he spoke to his Israeli counterpart, Yoav Gallant, on Tuesday, after the “outrageous aggressive act” carried out by Iran against Israel.
Austin said in a post on the “X” platform: “Today I spoke with Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant in the wake of Iran’s heinous act of aggression against Israel. The Minister and I expressed our mutual appreciation for Israel’s coordinated defense against nearly 200 ballistic missiles launched by Iran.” .
He referred to the Defense Ministers’ “pledge” to “remain in close contact,” adding: “I also expressed my deepest condolences to the families affected by the horrific and deadly terrorist shooting in Israel.”
I spoke with Israeli Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant today following today’s outrageous act of aggression by Iran against Israel. The Minister and I expressed mutual appreciation for the coordinated defense of Israel against nearly 200 ballistic missiles launched by Iran and…
— Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III (@SecDef) October 2, 2024
The Iranian Revolutionary Guard announced the implementation of a missile attack on Israel on Tuesday, which it said was “in response” to the killing of the Secretary-General of Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah, last week, and the head of the Political Bureau of Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh, last July.
The Pentagon said on Tuesday that two US Navy destroyers fired about 12 interceptor missiles to target Iranian missiles that were directed towards Israel.
Hours before the Iranian strike, the United States had transmitted intelligence information to Israel stating that Iran “intends to launch missile attacks on Israel very soon.”
Austin warned on Monday that Tehran would face “dangerous consequences” if it struck Israel directly.
In turn, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu considered that Tehran had committed a “grave mistake” by bombing his country with a barrage of ballistic missiles, vowing that it would “pay the price” for this bombing.
He said in a video message after Tehran fired 180 missiles at Israel: “Iran committed a grave mistake this evening and will pay the price.”
The Israeli army confirmed the interception of a “large number” of missiles.
Netanyahu said, “The Iranian regime does not understand our determination to defend ourselves and make our enemies pay the price.”
He added, “Nasrallah (did not understand that) and it seems that there are those in Tehran who do not understand that. They will understand that,” continuing: “Whoever attacks us, we will attack him.”
ظهرت في الأصل على www.alhurra.com