Israel says international coalition helped counter Iran’s unprecedented attack

Israel’s army said Sunday Israel, the United States, Britain, France and other allies had come together as a “coalition” for the first time to counter Iran’s unprecedented attack.

Iran launched a wave of missiles and attack drones against Israel overnight Saturday to Sunday in the first ever direct attack on its arch foe.

“Together we thwarted Iran’s attack... This was the first time that such a coalition worked together against the threat of Iran and its proxies in the Middle East,” said military spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari in a televised statement.

“Iran launched over 350 threats, ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, rockets and suicide drones towards Israel and also other countries in the region could have got that threat on the way.”

Tehran’s attack came in retaliation for a deadly air strike widely blamed on Israel that destroyed its consular building in Syria’s capital early this month.

In a separate statement, Israel’s Foreign Minister Israel Katz said he had told his British and French counterparts that “Iran must pay a price”.

“I told them -- it’s your time to weaken the Iranian regime, to proscribe the IRGC (Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps) as a terrorist organisation, and to impose crippling sanctions on the Iranian missile project.”