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White House believes Israel is yet to decide its Iran response, senior US official says
From CNN’s Kayla Tausche
The White House does not believe that Israel has made a determination on how to respond to Iran’s unprecedented missile attack, a senior US official told CNN.
Top Biden administration officials and their Israeli counterparts have been in touch constantly in recent days and weeks, as they braced for a potential Iranian strike in retaliation for attacks on top Hamas and Hezbollah targets. Nearly 12 hours after that attack materialized, US counterparts had yet to receive detailed and decisive information about what to expect.
“At some point, they will have to come to us with more details,” the official said, noting that the US made no proactive specifications for how Israel should respond.
Some background: After the US helped Israel intercept hundreds of drones and missiles fired by Iran in April, President Joe Biden urged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to “take the win,” CNN reported at the time.
Israel pursued a more limited response against Tehran several days after the initial barrage, though the senior US official acknowledged this week’s attack – given the types of weapons used, with little notice, headed for intelligence and military targets – was on a “much bigger scale.”
US VP candidates spar over who is better equipped to handle Middle East conflict
From CNN’s Simone McCarthy
Sen. JD Vance and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz participate in a debate at the CBS Broadcast Center on October 1 in New York City. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
The two candidates to be the next US vice president sparred over which party’s ticket would be better placed to handle the expanding conflict in the Middle East during a televised debate Tuesday evening.
Democratic Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz did not directly respond when asked whether he would support a preemptive strike by Israel on Iran if he were the final voice in the Situation Room. But he said he supports continuing to stand with Israel against Iran-backed proxies.
Republican Senator JD Vance of Ohio said it would be up to Israel, taking into consideration “what they think they need to do to keep their country safe.”
The two candidates also discussed former president Donald Trump’s 2018 decision to pull the United States out of the Iran nuclear deal negotiated by Barack Obama’s administration, which kept Iran from enriching uranium above around 4%. Making nuclear weapons requires uranium enriched to about 90%.
“We had a coalition of nations that had boxed Iran’s nuclear program in – the inability to advance it. Donald Trump pulled that program and put nothing else in its place. So Iran is closer to a nuclear weapon than they were before because of Donald Trump’s fickle leadership,” Walz said.
Vance parried by claiming that Trump had made the world “more secure” and brought “peace through strength.” He did not directly address the moderator’s question on whether the former president had made a mistake withdrawing from the deal.
Some analysis: CNN’s Peter Bergen writes Vance’s claim that Trump made the world more secure is “simply nonsense.” He pointed to comments from Trump’s own top intelligence official, former director of national intelligence Dan Coats, a former Republican senator, who testified before a Congressional committee in 2019 that the Obama-negotiated nuclear deal was working.
Follow CNN’s live coverage of the VP debate.
Israel weighs response to Iran attack as regional escalation fears grow. Catch up here
From CNN staff
People take shelter during an air raid siren in central Israel, on October 1, 2024. Ronen Zvulun/Reuters
Israel has vowed to respond to Iran’s largest ever attack on the country, fueling fears of a further escalation of conflict in the Middle East.
Iran launched dozens of missiles toward Israel on Tuesday in what Tehran said was a response to the killing of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and others, just hours after Israel said it had launched a “limited and localized” ground operation against the Iran-backed group in Lebanon.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it estimated that Iran fired 180 “projectiles” at the country. It said it intercepted many of the missiles, although some landed on the ground in Israel and the occupied West Bank.
At least one person was killed and several were injured during the attack, according to the Israeli military. The extent of the damage remains unclear.
Here’s what you need to know.
- Fears of all-out war: Iran’s attack has further raised the stakes in what is already an extremely tense moment. World leaders have long warned the conflict between Israel and Iran’s proxies Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon could spiral into a wider regional war — and all eyes will now be on how Israel responds.
- Israeli signals: Speaking after the assault, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Iran made a “big mistake” and “will pay” for it. “The regime in Iran does not understand our determination to defend ourselves and our determination to retaliate against our enemies,” he said.
- Major concern: One big fear for US and Arab diplomats is the possibility of Israel striking inside Iran, potentially against its nuclear facilities. Top officials from France, Britain, Germany and the European Union all condemned Iran’s attacks on Israel, warning of potentially disastrous consequences for the wider region.
- What the US says: President Joe Biden praised the US’ role in thwarting Iran’s missiles, calling the attack “defeated and ineffective.” He said the United States was “fully supportive” of Israel but his administration was still discussing with Israel what kind of response would be appropriate.
- Iran’s targets: Iran’s military chief said the attack was limited to military targets, but warned of broader strikes if Israel responds. CNN analysis of geolocated videos of the attack shows a significant concentration of missiles fell either at, or near, the headquarters of intelligence service Mossad, Nevatim Air Base and Tel Nof Air Base.
- Israeli attacks: Israel’s military said its operational capabilities had not been affected by Iran’s strikes. Hours later, the Israeli military said it struck Hezbollah targets in Lebanon’s capital Beirut. An IDF spokesperson said Israel would continue to pursue Hezbollah and anyone who threatened Israeli citizens. “Iran committed a serious act tonight, pushing the Middle East towards escalation. We will act at the time and place we decide,” he said.
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Iran’s military chief warns of broader strikes if Israel responds
From CNN’s Artemis Moshtaghian and Lucas Lilieholm
Iran’s military chief said the missile attack launched Tuesday was limited to military targets, but warned of broader strikes if Israel responds.
Maj. Gen. Mohammad Bagheri said Iran had targeted military infrastructure including the Mossad intelligence agency, the Nevatim Air Base, Hatzor Air Base, radar installations and groupings of Israeli tanks, despite having the option of launching a much broader attack.
“We had the capability to attack the regime’s economic infrastructure, but we only targeted military bases,” he said Wednesday.
He added a warning to Israel and its supporters.
“If the Zionist regime is not controlled and takes action against Iran, we will target all of its infrastructure,” he said.
Bagheri said the strikes against Israel were in retaliation for the assassinations of Ismail Haniyeh, Hassan Nasrallah and Abbas Nilforoushan.
Nasrallah, who led the Iran-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah for more than 30 years, was killed in an Israeli airstrike on his underground headquarters in Beirut on Friday. Nilforoushan, a senior commander from Iran’s powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, was killed alongside him, according to Iranian state media.
Hamas political leader Haniyeh was assassinated in Tehran in July using an explosive device that had been covertly hidden in the guesthouse where he was staying, a source familiar with the matter told CNN. The Iranian government and Hamas say Israel carried out the assassination. Israel has neither confirmed nor denied its involvement.
“Since the assassination of Martyr Haniyeh, we have gone through a difficult period of restraint at the repeated request of the Americans and Europeans, who asked us to hold back to establish a ceasefire in Gaza. However, after the martyrdom of Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah and Commander Nilforoushan, the situation became intolerable,” Bagheri said.
Blasts heard in Beirut as Israeli military says it’s striking southern suburbs
From CNN’s Jomana Karadsheh and Charbel Mallo
CNN teams in Beirut heard blasts overnight Tuesday into Wednesday.
Thick plumes of smoke were visible in the sky above the capital’s southern suburbs, a CNN photo shows.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) earlier said it is striking Hezbollah targets in several southern suburbs of Beirut and more details of the operation would follow.
It also told residents to evacuate several neighborhoods and buildings in the southern suburbs, where it suggested strikes are planned.
In one of a few messages posted to X after midnight local time, IDF Arabic spokesperson Avichay Adraee warned that residents are located near “dangerous facilities belonging to Hezbollah against which the Defense Force will act with strength shortly.”
Evacuation orders from the Israeli military have been posted on social media between midnight local time and 3 a.m., likely when many people are sleeping.
An estimated 1 million people in Lebanon have been displaced over the past couple of weeks, thousands of them sheltering in Beirut, including in schools on the edges of the southern suburbs of the city.
The areas targeted in Iran’s missile strike on Israel
From CNN’s Paul P. Murphy, Allegra Goodwin, Avery Schmitz, Benjamin Brown and Gianluca Mezzofiore
Iranian missile appears to hit less than a kilometer from Mossad headquarters in Herzliya, Israel, on October 1, 2024, in videos verified by CNN. Social media
Of the approximately 180 missiles the Israel Defense Forces say Iran fired Tuesday night, at least three apparent targets have emerged from a CNN analysis of geolocated videos of the attack.
It’s still too early to tell whether the attack resulted in any serious damage – that will require daylight and likely satellite imagery – but by analyzing the videos from the attack we have a picture of what Iran targeted.
Footage shows a significant concentration of missiles fell either at, or near, the headquarters of Mossad, Nevatim Air Base and Tel Nof Air Base.
Those locations largely tally with what the US intelligence community, and the Israelis, believed would be targeted. Israel assessed that Iran would likely attack three Israeli air bases and an intelligence base, according to a person briefed on the matter. And a US military official told CNN that potential Iranian targets included air bases and intelligence command centers.
Videos show at least two missiles falling near the Mossad HQ in Tel Aviv’s Glilot neighborhood, a densely populated area with a number of residential and commercial buildings.
In southern Israel’s Negev desert, videos show a significant number of Iranian rockets hitting the Nevatim base. The facility, one of Israel’s largest, was previously hit by Iran during its April 13 attack (the IDF said the damage was minimal.)
In the area of the Tel Nof base, more than 15 miles south of Tel Aviv, another video showed a number of impacts.
How Israel defends against aerial attacks
From CNN’s Brad Lendon
Israel’s Iron Dome anti-missile system intercepts rockets after Iran fired a salvo of ballistic missiles, as seen from Ashkelon, Israel, on October 1, 2024. Amir Cohen/Reuters
Israel operates a range of defensive systems to block attacks by everything from ballistic missiles with trajectories that take them above the atmosphere to low-flying cruise missiles and rockets.
The country’s Iron Dome system has been in the headlines often since regional hostilities ramped up last year in the wake of Hamas’ October 7 attack on Israel and the Israeli military’s subsequent bombardment of Gaza. But the Iron Dome is the bottom layer of Israel’s missile defense, according to the country’s Missile Defense Organization (IMDO).
There are at least 10 Iron Dome batteries in Israel, each equipped with a radar that detects rockets and then uses a command-and-control system that quickly calculates whether an incoming projectile poses a threat or is likely to hit an unpopulated area. If the rocket does pose a threat, the Iron Dome fires missiles from the ground to destroy it in the air.