Sirens sound in Israel after identification of drones from Iran
The Israeli military said Saturday that sirens sounded in multiple areas across the country after drones launched from Iran were detected.
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Rescue workers respond at the scene of a missile impact in Rishon LeZion on Saturday, following Iran’s overnight strikes on central Israel. At least two people were killed and around 20 injured in Israel, where officials say some victims lacked access to protected shelters.
Iranian forces intercepted and downed Israeli drones that had entered the country’s airspace near the border region of Salmas, according to local media reports.
The drones, the reports said, were attempting reconnaissance and intelligence-gathering operations before being targeted and destroyed by Iranian military units in the area.
Oman’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on X that Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr Albusaidi has conducted a series of phone calls with regional and global counterparts.
The discussions, the ministry tweeted, are part of ongoing efforts "to contain the dangerous military escalation and tensions in the region," sparked by Israel's attacks on Iranian territory on Friday.
In these conversations, Sayyid Albusaidi "emphasized the importance of halting the aggression and deterring the aggressor through peaceful means, based on international law and justice."
He added that the goal is to "prevent further bloodshed, destruction, and loss of life, and to safeguard the security, stability, and the supreme interests of the region and its peoples."
An extensive Israeli air and intelligence operation preempted a major Iranian counterattack, according to a report by Axios citing Israeli officials.
As Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) air force commanders convened in a bunker to coordinate a response to the anticipated Israeli strike, Israeli intelligence, aware of both the emergency protocol and the bunker’s location, destroyed the facility. The strike killed senior IRGC figures, including the heads of Iran’s drone and air defense programs.
The Israeli operation targeted Iran’s military command-and-control systems across the country. Among those killed were top commanders of the IRGC, Iran’s military, and the national emergency HQ.
"The fact that there was nobody to give the order neutralized an immediate Iranian response," an Israeli official said.
Simultaneously, Israel’s Mossad conducted sabotage operations inside Iran. Axios reports that Mossad units deployed hidden weapon systems near air defense positions and established a drone base inside Iran well ahead of the strike. When activated, these assets destroyed missile launchers and air defense sites, including at Esfajabad base near Tehran.
The Israeli Air Force, having pre-mapped Iran’s radar and missile defense systems, struck most of them in the operation’s opening phase, reportedly achieving near-total air superiority.
According to Israeli assessments cited by Axios, the initial goal was to prevent Iran from launching a salvo of 300–500 ballistic missiles. Instead, Iran responded hours later with around 100 drones, most of which were intercepted.
Israeli officials expect that Iran may still attempt a large-scale retaliation. “We think they want to prepare a significant missile barrage that would be big and coordinated in order to try and overwhelm our missile defense systems,” an official told Axios.
