
Iran and Israel traded blows on the Syrian border overnight, marking the first time Tehran has directly attacked Israel.

Last night, Iranian forces fired 20 rockets from Syria at Israeli front-line military positions in the Golan Heights, the Israeli military said.

UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the Israeli strikes killed at least 23 military personnel, including Syrians and non-Syrians.

Israel said the Iranian rockets were either shot down by its Iron Dome air defence system or fell short of the Golan targets, claiming the Quds Force, an external arm of Iran's Revolutionary Guards, carried out the launch.

In retaliation, Israel launched dozens of missiles on Iranian positions in Syria, which hit a radar station, air defence positions and an ammunition dump, Syrian state media said.

The exchange of fire came less than a day after US President Donald Trump pulled out of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, which lifts sanctions on Tehran in exchange for a halt on its nuclear program.

Israel said Iranian forces had fired 20 artillery rockets at their military bases in the disputed Golan Heights and that their Iron Dome defence system had intercepted a number of them

Israeli Merkava tanks are deployed near the Israeli-Syrian border in the Golan Heights today after some 20 rockets were fired at Israeli military bases by Iranian forces from southern Syria just after midnight

Firing back: This photo supplied by Syrian state media allegedly shows Israeli missiles hittin air defense position and other military bases, in Damascus, Syria

The Israeli Iron Dome defense system is seen above on the Golan Heights attempting to intercept suspected Iranian missiles being launched from Syria

The project was given a bigger boost when the Obama administration sought and received hundreds of millions of dollars in additional funding

Israel has been on heightened alert in recent days, anticipating an attack from Iran following the Iranian regime's vows to retaliate to what it says are recent Israeli strikes in Syria targeting Iranian outposts. Pictured: Israeli Merkava tanks are deployed near the Israeli-Syrian border today

An Israeli soldier is seen next to a signs pointing out distance to different cities on Mount Bental next to the Syrian border today

It was the heaviest Israeli barrage in Syria since the start in 2011 of its civil war, in which Iranians, allied Shi'ite militias and Russian soldiers have deployed in support of President Bashar al-Assad.

'We hit nearly all the Iranian infrastructure in Syria,' Israeli Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman told a security conference on Thursday morning.

'They need to remember the saying that if it rains on us, it'll storm on them. I hope we've finished this episode and everyone understood.'

An IDF spokesperson said Iran's Quds force fired the rockets at several Israeli bases, though would reveal how Israel determined the Iranian involvement.

If Israeli claims are true, it would be the first time Iranian troops have directly attacked Israel rather than using proxies such as Islamist militant group Hezbollah.

Trading blows: Iranian forces reportedly fired 20 rockets on the Golan Heights, to which Israel responded with dozens of strikes on Iranian positions in Syria

This frame grab from video provided on Wednesday by Syria News shows people standing in front of flames rising after an attack on an area known to have numerous Syrian army military bases in Kisweh, south of Damascus

The incoming attack set off air raid sirens in the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights, which was captured from Syria in the 1967 war.

People in Metula, a town in northern Israel, were reportedly asked to enter 'secure areas' following an explosion in the area.

While the IDF blames Iran for firing the initial barrage of rockets into the Golan Heights, Syrian media claims Israel fired first.

US LEAVING IRAN DEAL COULD SEE SPIKE IN OIL PRICES The United States' immediate reinstating of sanctions on Iran, could lead to a global spike in the price of oil. Oil prices are already at their highest level since November 2014 and as Iran is the world's fifth biggest oil producer, any new sanctions is likely to affect the market. However, U.S.-ally Saudi Arabia has said to will help meet the oil demands if Trump's withdrawal from the Iran deal would create any shortfalls. Advertisement

Israel's response saw war planes targeting Iranian positions inside Syria, according to an IDF spokesman.

Targets included the Mezzeh airbase in Damascus, according to Israeli media. More than 30 Israeli missiles have reportedly struck targets near the city, with the Russian military claiming 70 were fired - and half of them downed.

Russia's defence ministry said: '28 Israeli F-15 and F-16 aircraft were used in the attack, which released around 60 air-to-ground missiles over various parts of Syria. Israel also fired more than 10 tactical ground-to-ground missiles.'

Russia said Syria's air defence systems shot down more than half of the missiles, while the extent of the damage was still being assessed.

'The locations of Iranian armed groups and also the positions of the Syrian army's air defences in the area around Damascus and in the south of Syria were attacked,' the ministry said.

Syria's state media said Syrian air defenses had intercepted 'hostile Israeli missiles' early Thursday that were fired over southwestern Damascus.

'Air defenses confronted tens of Israeli rockets and some of them reached their target and destroyed one of the radar sites,' Syrian state news agency SANA reported, citing a military source. Another rocket hit an ammunition warehouse, it said.

Syrian state television was broadcasting footage of its air defenses firing at incoming rockets, and playing patriotic songs.

Long-exposure photographs showed Israeli artillery launched to intercept projectiles fired from Syria early today

THE GOLAN HEIGHTS: SYRIAN TERRITORY ANNEXED BY ISRAEL The Golan Heights form a strategic plateau between Israel and Syria of about 460 square miles. Israel captured it in the 1967 Middle East war and annexed it in 1981 in a move not recognized internationally. About 18,000 Israeli settlers have moved to the Golan, which also borders Jordan, since 1967. Some 20,000 Druze Muslims also live there. Israel gave the Druze the option of citizenship though most rejected it. Syria tried to regain the Golan Heights in the 1973 Middle East war, but the assault was thwarted. The two signed an armistice in 1974 and the Golan has been relatively quiet until recently. The Golan contains important water sources and has further strategic value because it overlooks northeastern Israel including the Sea of Galilee, a tourist attraction and Israel's biggest reservoir. In 2000, Israel and Syria held their highest-level talks over a possible return of the Golan and a peace agreement. But the negotiations collapsed. Source: Reuters Advertisement

It said Israeli warplanes were firing the rockets from outside Syria's borders and targeting Baath City in Quneitra province.

Earlier, Syrian media said the hostilities began with Israeli fire at Syrian positions in the country's south from across the border. Pro-Syrian media said Syrian missiles then fired at Israeli forces.

One TV station, Beirut-based Al-Mayadeen, said at least 50 missiles were fired from Syria at Israeli forces in the occupied Golan Heights.

It was the first time in years that Syrians had fired at Israeli forces in Golan, Syrian media reported.

The news that Israel and Iran had exchanged fire saw several world leaders call for de-escalation in the area, amid concern about growing military tensions between the two nations.

This morning, France's President Emmanuel Macron was first to call for de-escalation, and will be meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel later today to discuss the Middle East.

This was echoed by Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov, who said: 'This is all very alarming, it causes concern. There should be work to de-escalate the tensions,'

An air defense missile is seen over Daraa, Syria on Thursday. Daraa is very near the southwestern border with Jordan and not far from the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights

Anti-aircraft missiles are seen from the Syrian capital of Damascus before dawn on Thursday

The above image shows more Syrian air defense missiles as seen in the sky over the capital Damascus on Thursday

Syria's state media said Syrian air defenses had intercepted 'hostile Israeli missiles' early Thursday that were fired over southwestern Damascus

Israel has been on heightened alert in recent days, anticipating an attack from Iran following the Iranian regime's vows to retaliate to what it says are recent Israeli strikes in Syria targeting Iranian outposts.

Late on Tuesday, Syrian state media said Israel struck a military outpost near the capital of Damascus.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said the missiles targeted depots and rocket launchers that likely belonged to Iran's elite Revolutionary Guard.

Last month, an attack on Syria's T4 air base in Homs province killed seven Iranian military personnel.

On April 30, Israel was said to have struck government outposts in northern Syria, killing more than a dozen pro-government fighters, many of them Iranians.

SOHR said the attacks killed 23 fighters, including five Syrian soldiers.

The head of the Observatory, Rami Abdurrahman, said five Syrian soldiers, including two officers, and 18 militia fighters were killed. Abdurrahman says it is not immediately clear if he believed Iranians were among those killed.

Israel has neither confirmed nor denied most of the airstrikes.

But for months, it has repeatedly said it will not accept a permanent Iranian military presence in Syria.

Russian deputy foreign minister Mikhail Bogdanov today called for 'restraint on all sides', adding that Moscow was 'concerned' at the development.

The strikes came a day after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held talks in Moscow with Russian President Vladimir Putin, whose country has provided massive military and diplomatic backing to the regime of President Bashar al-Assad in Syria's seven-year civil war.

At the meeting Putin also expressed 'deep concern' over US President Donald Trump's decision to withdraw from a key 2015 Iran nuclear deal on Tuesday, a decision Netanyahu supported.

On Wednesday the Russian leader called the situation in the Middle East 'unfortunately very acute'.

Netanyahu had told Putin that 'it is the right of every state, certainly the right of Israel, to take the necessary steps in order to protect itself from (Iranian) aggression)', his office said in a statement Wednesday, referring to Iran's presence in Syria.

An Israeli Iron dome system is seen deployed near the Israeli-Syrian border in the Golan Heights

An Iron Dome anti-missile system can be seen near the Israeli side of the border with Syria in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights on Wednesday

An Israeli tank can be seen near the Israeli side of the border with Syria in Golan Heights

The Israeli-occupied section of the Golan Heights was placed on high alert due to 'irregular activity by Iranian forces' across the demarcation line in Syria

An Israeli artillery unit takes position near the Syrian border in the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights

Israeli soldiers stand on top of their Merkava tanks deployed near the Israeli-Syrian border in the Golan Heights

Israel has long objected to an Iranian military presence near the Golan Heights frontier

In February, Israel shot down what it said was an armed Iranian drone that entered Israeli airspace.

Israel responded by attacking anti-aircraft positions in Syria, but an Israeli warplane was shot down during the battle.

Iranian forces moved into Syria after the outbreak of the Syrian civil war in 2011 to back the forces of President Bashar Assad.

As that war winds down, and Assad appears to be headed toward victory, Israel fears that Iran, along with tens of thousands of Iranian-backed Shiite militiamen, will carry out attacks against Israel.

Speaking at the Herzliya Conference, an annual security gathering north of Tel Aviv, Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman said Israel would response fiercely to any further Iranian actions.

'We will not let Iran turn Syria into a forward base against Israel. This is the policy, a very, very clear policy, and we're acting according to this policy,' he said.

'We, of course, struck almost all the Iranian infrastructure in Syria, and they need to remember this arrogance of theirs. If we get rain, they'll get a flood. I hope that we ended this chapter and that everyone understood.'

This morning's exchange of fire comes after President Donald Trump's announcement on Tuesday that the US was withdrawing from the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran triggered uncertainty and threatened to spark more unrest in the Middle East.

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei yesterday blasted President Trump, calling him a liar and saying that his move to pull out of the deal was 'foul play'.

Iranian protesters burn US flags during an anti-US gathering outside of the former American embassy in central Tehran

Iranians reacted angrily on Wednesday to President Trump's decision to withdraw from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal. Protesters are seen above walking on the US flag in Tehran

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's comments came Wednesday as he met with a group of school teachers in Tehran, a day after Trump announced he was renewing sanctions on Iran.

'From day one, I said several times that the United States is not to be trusted. I said it publicly and privately. I said if you want to sign an agreement, first make sure that necessary guarantees are made,' Khamenei said in his speech

'What happened is a foul play on the part of the United States, and it does not surprise us,' he said during a speech he gave in Tehran.

Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu traveled to Moscow on Wednesday to meet with President Vladimir Putin and discuss military coordination in Syria.

Russia has also sent forces to Syria to back Assad.

But Israel and Russia have maintained close communications to prevent their air forces from coming into conflict.

Together with Putin, Netanyahu toured a parade celebrating the anniversary of the Second World War victory over the Nazis and then met the Russian president at the Kremlin for consultations.

Rules of the agreement: Behind the historic 2015 Iran nuclear deal

Trump withdraws from Iran deal President Donald Trump announced on Tuesday that he was withdrawing the U.S. from the nuclear deal with Iran, abruptly restoring harsh sanctions in the most consequential foreign policy action of his presidency. He declared he was making the world safer, but he also deepened his isolation on the world stage and revived doubts about American credibility with a rationale that contradicted the analyses of U.S. and foreign intelligence sources. The 2015 agreement, which was negotiated by the Obama administration and included Germany, France and Britain, had lifted most U.S. and international economic sanctions against Iran. In exchange, Iran agreed to restrictions on its nuclear program, making it impossible to produce a bomb and establishing rigorous inspections. President Donald Trump announced on Tuesday that he was withdrawing the U.S. from the nuclear deal with Iran But Trump, a severe critic of the deal dating back to his 2016 presidential campaign, said Tuesday in a televised address from the White House that it was 'defective at its core.' On Wednesday, he warned Iran against resuming its nuclear weapons program. 'I would advise Iran not to start their nuclear program,' Trump told reporters at the start of a Cabinet meeting when asked about the potential consequences. 'I would advise them very strongly. If they do there will be very severe consequence.' He claimed the deal 'was going to lead to nuclear proliferation all over the Middle East' and bragged the sanctions would be among the strongest 'that we've ever put on a country.' U.S. allies in Europe had tried to keep Trump in and lamented his move to abandon it. Iran's leader ominously warned his country might 'start enriching uranium more than before.' The sanctions seek to punish Iran for its nuclear program by limiting its ability to sell oil or do business overseas, affecting a wide range of Iranian economic sectors and individuals. Iran's government must now decide whether to follow the U.S. and withdraw or try to salvage what's left with the Europeans. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said he was sending his foreign minister to the remaining countries but warned there was only a short time to negotiate with them. Trump also left open the possibility of a new deal, and told reporters Wednesday: 'We'll make either a really good deal for the world or we're not going to make a deal at all. He predicted Iran would choose to negotiate eventually, or face consequences. The administration said it would re-impose sanctions on Iran immediately but allow grace periods for businesses to wind down activity. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu welcomed Trump's announcement as a 'historic move.' Trump said Tuesday that documents recently released by Netanyahu showed Iran had attempted to develop a nuclear bomb in the previous decade, especially before 2003. Although Trump gave no explicit evidence that Iran violated the deal, he said Iran had clearly lied in the past and could not be trusted. Iran has denied ever pursuing nuclear arms. In Iran, many are deeply concerned about how Trump's decision could affect the already struggling economy. In Tehran, Rouhani sought to calm nerves, smiling as he appeared at a petroleum expo. He didn't name Trump directly, but emphasized that Iran continued to seek 'engagement with the world.' Advertisement

After 10 hours together, Netanyahu said he conveyed Israel's obligation to defend itself against Iranian aggression.

'I think that matters were presented in a direct and forthright manner, and this is important. These matters are very important to Israel's security at all times and especially at this time,' he said.

Israel views Iran as its archenemy, citing Iran's calls for Israel's destruction, support for militant groups across the region and growing military activity in neighbouring Syria.

Israel has warned that it will not allow Iran to establish a permanent military presence in Syria.

Israel's military went on high alert on Tuesday and bomb shelters were ordered open in the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights following reports of 'irregular activity of Iranian forces in Syria.'

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (left) traveled to Moscow on Wednesday to meet with President Vladimir Putin (right) and discuss military coordination in Syria

After an uneventful night, the military on Wednesday called on residents to return to 'full civilian routine,' meaning studies and excursions would continue as usual, although the shelters would remain open.

Amos Gilead, a retired senior Israeli defence official, told a security conference in the coastal town of Herzliya that Iran's intentions in Syria meant a wider conflagration may only be a matter of time.

'They want to build a second Hezbollah-stan,' he said, referring to the Iranian-backed Lebanese Shiite militant group that last fought a war with Israel in 2006.

'They are determined to do it and we are determined to prevent it. It means we are on a collision course.'