‘Defeated and ineffective’ — US speaks on Iran’s missile attacks against Israel

Jake Sullivan, White House national security advisor, says Iran’s missile attacks against Israel were “defeated” and “ineffective”.

Sullivan spoke at a news conference while addressing Iran’s late Tuesday attack.

The security advisor said there were no reports of casualties or damage to strategic military assets, noting that the attacks were thwarted.

“In short, based on what we know at this point, this attack appears to have been defeated and ineffective,” Sullivan said.

The US official attributed the operation’s “success” to the “professionalism of the IDF”, and the “skilled work of the US military”, and “meticulous joint planning in anticipation of the attack”.

Hours before Iran fired missiles at Israel, the US issued a statement warning of the impending attack.

Although the scale of the attack was not immediately clear, the US said it was actively supporting defensive preparations to defend Israel, warning that Iran would face severe consequences if it proceeded with the attack.

The Israeli military estimated that Iran fired 180 “projectiles” but stressed that it was not the final count.

“We are proud of the actions that we’ve taken alongside Israel to protect and defend Israel,” Sullivan said.

“We have made clear that there will be consequences—severe consequences—for this attack, and we will work with Israel to make that the case.”

Hamas praised Iran, saying they avenged the deaths of Hassan Nasrallah, Hezbollah leader; Ismail Haniyeh, Hamas political leader;  and Abbas Nilforoushan, a senior commander in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

Israeli airstrikes killed those three figures in recent times, tipping the region closer toward a multi-front conflict.