Egypt's air defense on high alert as Iran launches attacks on Israel

CAIRO -- Egypt's air defense systems were placed on high alert following Iran's announcement of launching retaliatory attacks on Israel, a senior Egyptian security official told the Al-Qahera News TV on Saturday.

The official stated that a crisis response team was monitoring the situation and reporting to President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi.

The Egyptian Foreign Ministry voiced its concern over the escalation and urged restraint to prevent further instability in the region, adding the current tensions are connected to the ongoing conflict in the Gaza Strip and regional military activities.

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) confirmed on Saturday that it had launched missile and drone attacks on Israel, in retaliation for the Israeli airstrikes on the Iranian consulate building at its embassy in the Syrian capital of Damascus on April 1.