Middle East on the brink: Israel's Netanyahu says Iran will 'pay' after missile attack

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Iran would "pay" after it fired almost 200 missiles at Israel on Tuesday.

"Iran made a big mistake tonight and will pay for it," Netanyahu said hours after the attack, and warned: "Whoever attacks us, we attack them."

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant made similar comments, saying: "Iran has not learned a simple lesson — those who attack the state of Israel, pay a heavy price."

US President Joe Biden said that the US was discussing with Israel how to respond to the attack.

Vice President Kamala Harris, who is also is also the Democratic presidential nominee, called Iran a "destabilizing, dangerous force in the Middle East" and said "I fully support President Joe Biden's order for the US military to shoot down Iranian missiles targeting Israel.  

Meanwhile, figures in the international community continued calls for deescalation.

"The EU condemns in the strongest terms Iran's attack against Iran's attack against Israel," EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell said in a statement on X, while adding that "this cycle of attacks risks fuelling an uncontrollable regional escalation. We call on all parties to exert maximum restraint."  

"I condemn the broadening of the Middle East conflict with escalation after escalation," UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. "This must stop. We absolutely need a cease-fire."

Iran says attacks were 'self-defense,' targeting only military sites

IranianForeign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi described Tuesday's missile launches as an act of "self-defense" in accordance with UN law.

"Earlier this evening, we exercised self-defense under Article 51 of the UN Charter, targeting solely military and security sites in charge of genocide in Gaza and Lebanon," he wrote on X.

The term "genocide" has been contested by Israel in regards to its activities in the Mideast, with Israel saying it takes care to protect civilian life in its military operations.  

While Iran has accused Israel of carrying out attacks inside Iran before, most of Israel's recent strikes have been against Iranian-backed groups, such as Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Araghchi said that Tehran exercised "tremendous restraint" to "give space for a cease-fire in Gaza."

He went on to say that no further attacks were planned.

"Our action is concluded unless the Israeli regime decides to invite further retaliation. In that scenario, our response will be stronger and more powerful."

Israel tells residents of southern Beirut to evacuate

The Israeli military on Tuesday evening told the residents of southern Beirut to evacuate, saying it was planning to attack Hezbollah installations there.

Israeli forces have bombarded southern Beirut in particular in recent weeks, turning it into a new focus of the conflict that began almost a year ago.

The Lebanese Health Ministry said that 55 people had been killed and 156 wounded from Israeli attacks on Tuesday alone.

Early on Wednesday, the Israeli military said it is "currently striking Hezbollah terror targets in Beirut."

France's Macron, Japan's Ishiba condemn attacks on Israel

French President Emmanuel Macron put out a statement condemning Iran's new attacks on Israel in the "strongest possible terms."

Macron urged that "Hezbollah cease its terrorist actions against Israel and its population" and asked Israel to end its military operations as soon as possible. 

He also added that France had "mobilized" its military resources in the Middle East to counter Tehran.

Japan's new Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba also condemned Iran's attacks on Israel, and said they were "unacceptable."

"We will condemn this strongly. But at the same time, we would like to cooperate (with the US) to defuse the situation and prevent it from escalating into a full-on war," he said, after a phone call with US President Joe Biden.