Over the passing weeks, beginning on the 13th of April, 2024, Iran launched a series of attacks against the nation of Israel.  During these attacks, over 300 missiles descended onto Israeli soil, although many of them were intercepted or shot down. Even though the United States is not directly involved in this conflict, the US aided in defending Israel by helping shoot down the incoming missiles. While the majority of the missiles were shot down, Israel has been hit by a few missiles, but luckily no casualties were incurred and only minor injuries have been reported. In addition to defending missiles from Iran, the US also intercepted missiles launched by other countries, including Iraq, Syria, and Yemen. After these attacks, it was reported that the missiles  were in response to a suspected Israeli missile attack in Syria that killed two Iranian military generals, alongside six other Iranian nationals and six Syrian civilians. 

History of the Two

Although Iran and Israel are now considered archrivals, at one point in time they were considered allies. In fact, Iran was the second country in the Muslim majority groups of the Middle East  to officially recognize the state of Israel, which was founded in 1948. Cordial relations between the two remained for some time, with them even exchanging resources and trades. As their relationship grew, Israel came to need Iran more than Iran needed Israel. In 1979, the incumbent  government of Iran was overthrown, in which the leader of the revolution, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, enacted policies in which they would stand against so-called “arrogant” world powers and their allies, which included Israel due to their  oppression of the Palestinian people. From this moment onwards, the relations between the two would continue to sour. 

Israeli Response

Soon after the Iranian attacks on Israel, the Israeli Cabinet vowed to respond to these attacks. As the days passed, tensions rose between the two nations, with each one anticipating a response from the other. On April 19, 2024, the tensions between the two nations finally came to a head, with Israel striking a strategic military base in Isfahan. After this attack, the government of Iran declared that the strike was not extensive enough to warrant a response; as a result, tensions between the two have been lowered significantly. Although direct relations between the two nations have not escalated since, relations between Israel and proxy groups in the Middle East backed by Iran have worsened.  Some of these groups include the Houthis, which occupy parts of Yemen and the Lebanese Hizballah. Most present in the news is Hamas, a Palestinian Sunni Islamist political and military movement, which currently occupies the Gaza strip. As this is an ongoing conflict, breaking news will be reported as it happens.