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1 1 (April 13, 2024)

handle is hein.crs/goveoze0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Escalation of the Israel-Iran Conflict April 13, 2024 Overview On April 13, the Islamic Republic of Iran, for the first time, initiated a kinetic military action against Israel in the form of aerial attacks (drones and ballistic and cruise missiles) launched from Iranian territory toward the state of Israel. Iran states that the attacks were in retaliation for an April 1 strike reportedly by Israel against a building within the Iranian embassy compound in Damascus, Syria. That strike killed high-level members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), an arm of the Iranian military and a U.S.-designated Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO). Israeli, U.S., and other partner forces shot down nearly all of the projectiles, which caused minor damage in Israel. Israel's war cabinet has indicated that it is in favor of a response, but members reportedly disagree over the scope and timing, as the United States seeks to de-escalate tensions. This sequence of strikes and counter-strikes represents a significant escalation in a years-long shadow war between Israel and Iran. Until now, the conflict had been fought mostly in theaters outside of each country's territory, between Israel and Iran-supported groups (such as Hezbollah in Lebanon), and/or by covert or non-kinetic means (such as cyberwarfare). Israel-Iran escalatory attacks also come at a time when Israel faces international pressure to reduce the impact of conflict on the Palestinian population in Gaza, where Israel and Hamas (an Iran-supported group and FTO) have been engaged in warfare since Hamas-led attacks against Israel on October 7, 2023. The Biden Administration has pursued multiple lines of effort in responding to this latest crisis in the Middle East. Despite weeks-long U.S.-Israel tensions over Israel's conduct of the war in Gaza, U.S. officials have communicated full U.S. support to defend Israel against any attacks by Iran and its regional proxies. On April 12, amidst heightened Iranian threats to Israel, President Biden ordered the repositioning of two guided missile destroyers, one armed with an Aegis missile defense system. Diplomatically, U.S. officials have reportedly reached out to regional counterparts to encourage de- escalation. At the same time, U.S. officials have expressed concern to Israeli counterparts that Israel did not forewarn the United States before the April 1 Damascus strike. Since October 7, U.S. forces in the Middle East have taken action to counter Iranian-backed armed groups in Iraq, Syria, and Yemen. Congressional Research Service https://crsreports.congress.gov IN12347 CRS INSIGHT Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress