Middle East enters dangerous new phase with Iran's drone and missile attack on Israel

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was among the first leaders to respond to Iran’s attack. “The U.K. will continue to stand up for Israel’s security and that of all our regional partners,” he said.

France, Germany and Japan also condemned Iran’s actions.

China said Iran’s attack was “the latest manifestation of the spillover of the Gaza conflict” and called for an immediate cease-fire there.

The assault could worsen a Middle East conflict that began when thousands of Hamas operatives broke into Israel from Gaza in October, killing about 1,200 people and abducting 250. Israel’s retaliatory air and ground assault has killed more than 33,000 people in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run health ministry in the Palestinian territory. That’s provoked anger in the Muslim world and beyond.

Hamas is designated a terrorist organization by the U.S. and EU.

A direct clash between Iran and Israel could draw in the Lebanon-based group Hezbollah, which like Hamas is backed by Iran, and heighten the possibility of a regional war. Oil supplies from the Persian Gulf could also be curtailed.

Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, repeatedly warned Israel would be “punished” for the deadly strike in Damascus, which destroyed the Islamic Republic’s consulate building and killed at least 13 people. Israel didn’t claim responsibility, but didn’t deny it either.

One of the officers who died was Mohammadreza Zahedi, an IRGC general and the highest-ranking Iranian killed since the U.S., under then-President Donald Trump, assassinated Qassem Soleimani in Iraq in 2020.

After Soleimani’s death, Iran launched attacks on U.S. military bases but didn’t kill anyone. Iran threatened on Sunday to hit U.S. bases in the Middle East again if the White House helped Israel respond to Saturday night’s attack.

Iran backs anti-Israel and anti-U.S. groups across the region. Together, they are often called the “axis of resistance.” They include Hamas and Hezbollah, as well as the Houthis in Yemen and militias in Syria and Iraq.

The Houthis used the war in Gaza as a pretext for missile attacks on commercial ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, while Hezbollah has exchanged fire across the border with Israel almost daily since the incursion.

The Iran-backed groups in Iraq and Syria regularly targeted U.S. bases with missiles and drones late last year and in January. Those attacks mostly stopped after three U.S. soldiers in Jordan were killed by a drone in late January and the Pentagon responded by striking Iran-linked facilities in the region.

Hamas talks stall

Also on Sunday, Israel said Hamas had rejected the latest cease-fire proposal from mediators.

Hamas turned down the outline presented by mediators, according to Mossad, the Israeli external-intelligence agency.

While Mossad didn’t directly say the Iran drone and missile strikes on Israel were to blame, it said Hamas’ leader in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar, “is continuing to exploit the tension with Iran” and “does not want a humanitarian deal and the return of the hostages.”

The U.S., Qatar and Egypt are brokering the talks.