The first answer to last night’s joint Israel–US strikes on Iran has arrived in fire. Iranian state media and regional officials confirm that around 30 rockets and short‑range missiles were launched from Iranian territory toward Israeli and American‑linked targets across the region, in what Tehran calls the “opening phase of strategic retaliation.”

Sirens wailed in northern and central Israel as Israel’s Iron Dome and David’s Sling systems lit up the sky, intercepting most of the incoming fire. At least a handful of projectiles appear to have slipped through, striking near a military logistics hub and an airfield used by Israeli and US aircraft. Initial reports speak of dozens injured and localized damage, but no confirmed mass‑casualty hit.

The Pentagon says several rockets and drones were also aimed at facilities hosting US troops in Iraq and the Gulf, with defensive systems “engaging multiple threats simultaneously.” Washington labels the barrage “unacceptable escalation,” while insisting it had been anticipated and partially blunted by pre‑positioned air defenses.

In Tehran, Revolutionary Guard commanders are celebrating a “first salvo in a long campaign,” hinting that heavier missiles and proxy forces are being held in reserve if Israel and the US continue their offensive. Israeli officials, for their part, warn that any further launches from Iran or its allies will trigger “disproportionate and immediate” response strikes.

Diplomats now fear the conflict is tipping from controlled confrontation into open, rolling warfare, where each night’s barrage demands a larger answer. The question gripping capitals from Washington to Riyadh is no longer if war might start — but whether what we are watching already is the war everyone hoped to avoid.