The US fired about a dozen interceptors at Iranian missiles fired at Israel, the Pentagon said.

U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan called it a “significant escalation by Iran.”

The Israeli military said about 180 rockets were fired at Israel on Wednesday, most of which were intercepted.

Iranian President Massoud Pezeshkian has defended the attack, calling it a “decisive” response “to defend Iranian interests and citizens.”

In a Pentagon news conference on Tuesday, Maj. Gen. Patrick Ryder said two U.S. Navy destroyers had been used to fire the interceptors at the missiles, all of which the U.S. believed were fired from Iran.

He did not confirm whether they had hit any of the Iranian missiles used in the attack – adding that the information was not yet available.

He said Tuesday’s attack was about “twice the size” of the Iranian attack in April in terms of ballistic missiles used.

Maj. Gen. Ryder added that the Pentagon was not aware of any warning of the attack.

At a separate White House briefing, Mr. Sullivan described the attack as a “significant escalation by Iran,” adding that it was “equally significant that we were able to act jointly with Israel and create a situation in which “No one was killed in this attack in Israel.”

He added that the US would now consider “the appropriate next steps” to protect American interests and “promote stability to the greatest extent possible.”

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said in a statement that the attacks were in response to Israel’s killing of a top IRGC commander and leaders of Iranian-backed militias in the region.

It mentioned the killing of Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah and IRGC commander Abbas Nilforoshan in Lebanon last weekend.

Reference was also made to the assassination of Hamas politician Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran in July. Although Israel has not admitted to being behind Haniyeh’s death, it is widely believed to be responsible.