PARIS, Oct 2, 2024 (BSS/AFP) - World leaders have urged Iran and Israel to step back from the brink after Tehran fired a barrage of rockets at its arch-rival.

Tehran said the attack on Tuesday -- which took place as Israel said it was mounting a ground offensive against Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon -- was in response to the killings of Iran-backed militant leaders.

It was the second time Iran has directly attacked Israel, after a missile and drone attack in April in retaliation for a deadly Israeli air strike on the Iranian consulate in Damascus.

- 'Need a ceasefire': UN -
After the wave of missiles, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned the "broadening conflict in the Middle East".

With Israel's conflict with Hezbollah broadening alongside its ongoing war with Palestinian Hamas militants in Gaza, Guterres slammed "escalation after escalation" in the region.

"This must stop. We absolutely need a ceasefire."
- 'Totally unacceptable': US -
As the attack unfolded, President Joe Biden ordered the US military to "aid Israel's defence against Iranian attacks and shoot down missiles that are targeting Israel".

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the attack was "totally unacceptable".

"Initial reports suggest that Israel, with the active support of the United States and other partners, effectively defeated this attack," Blinken said.

- Israel vows retaliation -
Israel vowed to retaliate in the wake of Iran's attack.
 
"This attack will have consequences. We have plans, and we will operate at the place and time we decide," said Israeli military spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari.

- 'Heroic rocket launches': Hamas -

The Palestinian Islamist group, whose October 7 attack sparked the war in Gaza, praised Iran's attack on Israel.

Hamas said the attack was retaliation for killings including Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut and Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran.

Hamas "blesses the heroic rocket launches carried out by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in Iran against wide areas of our occupied lands," adding it was "in revenge for the blood of our heroic martyrs".
- 'Restraint': Spain -
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez condemned the Iranian strikes and called for an end to the "spiral of violence" blighting the Middle East.
Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares said that Madrid was issuing "a new call to all the actors, obviously including Israel, to show restraint and not escalation".

- 'Iran must stop': Germany -
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock demanded Iran end its missile attack on Israel: "I condemn the ongoing attack in the strongest possible terms."
"Iran must stop the attack immediately" as it was "leading the region further towards the abyss", she added.

- 'Strongest' terms: France -
French President Emmanuel Macron condemned Iran's attacks against Israel "in the strongest possible terms", adding that France had "mobilised" its military resources in the Middle East to counter Tehran.

Macron also demanded that "Hezbollah cease its terrorist actions against Israel and its population", and asked Israel to "put an end to their military operations as soon as possible".

- 'Steadfast commitment': Britain -
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer condemned Iran's attack "in the strongest terms".

During a call with his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu, Starmer also "expressed the UK's steadfast commitment to Israeli security and the protection of civilians."

- 'Defuse the situation': Japan -
Japan's new Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said missile attacks by Iran on Israel 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.