The White House says it’s not aware of any deaths in Israel following strikes by Iran, but adds that this is a fluid situation so numbers and details could change.
During a press briefing, National Security spokesperson Jake Sullivan describes the strikes by Iran as a “significant escalation” and says it appears to have been “defeated and ineffective” without any known damage to Israeli aircraft and strategic military assets.
He says Iran launched around 200 ballistic missiles towards Israel and US naval destroyers helped Israel shoot them down.
(The IDF earlier said 180 missiles had been launched from Iran towards Israel.)
President Biden and Vice President Harris monitored events from the Situation Room and they are following developments in the Middle East “minute by minute”, Sullivan continues.
Sullivan says the US will consult with Israel on next steps and is particularly focused on protecting service members in the region. He also mentions that the US has not triggered emergency evacuations for its citizens there.
Sullivan refuses to comment on questions about any retaliation from Israel or the US.
Were ballistic missiles used in Iran’s attack?
BBC Verify has been speaking with military experts to understand which type of missiles were used in Iran’s attack on Israel.
Patrick Senft, a research coordinator at the intelligence consultancy firm Armament Research Services (ARES), tells BBC Verify that fragments suggested that ballistic missiles had been used in the attack.
Ballistic missiles reach their targets faster than common cruise missiles, he adds, and “make up the majority of the Iranian long-range strike capabilities”.
Dr Thomas Karako, the director of the Missile Defense Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), is also confident that ballistic missiles were used.
His colleague, Mark Cancian, a senior adviser at CSIS says that the difference between today’s attack compared with Iran’s attack in April is that “more missiles seem to be hitting Israel”.
He adds that ballistic missiles are harder to intercept by missile defence systems “because of their higher speed”.
