Iran Strikes Israel, U.S. Responds, Trump's New York Trial Begins

headed to Israel.

Has a wider Middle East war been avoided, or has it begun?

American military support played a leading role in defending Israel.

no reason in our view that it needs to become so.

I mean, all I can do is tell the truth.

Stay with us.

We'll give you the news you need to start your day.

More than 300 Iranian drones, cruise missiles, and ballistic missiles flew toward Israel

Saturday, raising the specter of a wider conflict between Israel and Iran that could drag the

U.S. into the fray.

top Iranian officers at Iran's embassy compound in Syria, an attack attributed to Israel.

Despite the scale of the attack, there was very little damage.

Israel and the U.S., along with Great Britain, France, and Jordan, shot down nearly all of

the missiles and drones, and Iran told the United Nations it considered the matter, quote

unquote, concluded, as long as there was no counter-strike.

Estrin in Tel Aviv, and our national security correspondent Greg Meyery here in Washington.

Good morning to you both.

Good morning.

Walk us through Iran's strikes and how this all unfolded.

Israel announced that Iran was firing drones toward Israel and that it would take hours

for them to arrive.

And Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed Israelis in a video statement.

So he told Israelis, our defense systems are deployed.

We are prepared for any scenario, both in defense and attack.

And then several hours later, around 2 a.m., sirens started going off, 2 a.m. local time.

They went off in Israel's north and the south.

Even in Jerusalem, there were these bright orbs of light flying through the air above

the Golden Dome of the Rock, you know, the holy site.

There were booms of interceptions.

There was the rumble of fighter jets in the skies.

And Israeli fighter pilots who have been speaking on Israeli army radio have said that they

never imagined or even drilled for such a massive attack in terms of just the number

of projectiles at the same time.

Ninety-nine percent of them, Israeli officials say, either fell short or were intercepted

midair.

What can you tell us about that?

Altogether, we're talking about nine countries involved in some form.

Iran fired from its homeland, but it also fired from positions in Iraq and Syria.

The Houthis in Yemen launched attacks.

So Israel was facing incoming airstrikes from four separate countries.

Israel, as Daniel just mentioned, shot down most of this fire, but the U.S. took part

from Navy ships in the Mediterranean and the Red Sea.

Jordan shot down some of the drones.

It said not to protect Israel, but to defend its own airspace.

And Britain and France also shot down drones.

So five countries were involved in shooting down the Iranian drones and missiles.

Perhaps most remarkably, there's been no reports of anyone killed, just a couple injuries.

this weekend.

What did Iran have to say about the attack?

It was responding to the Israeli attack on the Iranian diplomatic compound in Damascus.

And the way that Israeli analysts explain that Israeli attack is that, you know, during

the Gaza war, Iran has been fueling, you know, six months of attacks on Israel through its

proxies in Lebanon and Yemen.

And Israel here wanted to deliver a strong response.

Only Israel apparently did not expect Iran to respond the way that it did.

Now Iran was also sending many messages here.

Iran says it gave other countries 72 hours notice of these strikes and also told the

U.S. through other countries that it did not attend to strike U.S. targets or military

bases.

Iran's foreign minister, Hossein Amir Abdelian, spoke yesterday through an interpreter.

Here's what he said.

You know, even before the missiles reached Israel, Iran's mission to the U.N. tweeted,

as Michelle mentioned earlier, this matter can be deemed concluded.

It warned Israel not to respond and it said the U.S. must stay away.

very much involved in Israel's defense over the weekend, right?

The U.S. and Israel and other partners were closely coordinating air defense plans.

They had about 10 days to get ready for this because it was pretty well telegraphed and

they knew it was coming.

Still, a U.S. official who briefed reporters, he described the Iranian barrage as being

very much at the high end of what they had anticipated.

And he also described this very tense moment when all these Iranian weapons were bearing

down on Israel, including more than 100 ballistic missiles, all in the air at the same time

within a few minutes of Israel.

And as we noted, the U.S. participated from Navy ships in the Mediterranean and Red Sea.

Here's John Kirby, a National Security Council spokesman, talking about the shooting on weekend

edition Sunday.

It proved the military superiority of the United States and our other partners that

participated in this.

That was an incredible success.

airstrikes.

What was the president's message?

caution.

He told the Israeli leader that the U.S. will provide ironclad support to help Israel defend

itself.

But the U.S. is not going to take part in offensive operations against Iran.

U.S. officials said Biden is not telling Israel what it should or shouldn't do.

But clearly, the U.S. would prefer Israel to see this as a very successful operation,

proof that Israel, with help from the U.S. and others, can defend itself and should consider

the path of de-escalation.

And it's in keeping with Biden's stance since the Israel-Hamas war erupted in October.

Again, here's Admiral John Kirby.

no reason in our view that it needs to become so.

What are the options they're weighing after this attack?

An Israeli official told me this morning that everyone in the government in Israel

believes that Israel has to respond somehow, because this is not the shadow war anymore,

Leila.

This is not Iran hiding behind proxy groups in Yemen or Lebanon.

This was a first-ever declared attack launched from Iran directly toward Israel.

It's an escalation in Israel's eyes.

And so the Israeli official I spoke to says the question is how Israel is going to respond.

Some want a military response, a strong one.

Others see this as an opportunity for diplomacy to build a strategic alliance in the region,

maybe even to end the war in Gaza, establish ties with Saudi Arabia, and that would be

a deterrent against Iran in the long term.

the deaths of civilians and aid workers in Gaza.

Where does that stand now?

They can both view it as a success.

So one would assume it's improved the atmosphere.

But now there's the question of what will Israel do next toward Iran and in Gaza.

The U.S. says Israel doesn't have to hit back at Iran, or as one U.S. official put it, the

Americans don't want to see this run up the escalation ladder.

And in Gaza, the U.S. still wants to see an easing of the humanitarian crisis there.

Israel did respond to Biden's previous phone call about 11 days ago or so.

It is allowing more aid in, and we'll be watching very closely to see if this improves conditions

for Palestinians there.

What's Tel Aviv like now?

Israel has lifted all the restrictions it had imposed on school outings and big gatherings.

And many people are, I think, just feeling a sense of relief.

It's remarkable that the missiles were intercepted so successfully, that Israel hasn't immediately

responded and we are not engulfed in a wider regional war today.

Thanks to you both.

and adult film star Stormy Daniels.

Trump is facing 34 felony charges in a Manhattan courtroom for falsifying business records.

He has pleaded not guilty to all of them.

And on Friday, he said he'll take the stand.

I tell the truth.

I mean, all I can do is tell the truth.

Good morning, Andrea.

But this is the first trial that could result in prison time, at least hypothetically.

So what are prosecutors alleging here?

Michael Cohen, wrote up an agreement to prevent Stormy Daniels from speaking about an alleged

affair with Trump.

Cohen paid her $130,000 out of his own pocket.

The criminal charges stem from how Donald Trump reimbursed Cohen, that is, for a so-called

legal retainer when there was no legal retainer.

Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg says the false records were kept to cover up Trump and Cohen's attempts

to change the outcome of the 2016 election.

Why is this one going forward now?

The investigation started while he was president, but Trump's lawyers argued he was immune from

criminal investigation.

It went all the way to the Supreme Court, twice actually, before the investigation resumed

and ultimately resulted in indictment a year ago.

Even after the judge in the case, Juan Merchan, told Trump's lawyers just three weeks ago

in effect, do not bring me last minute frivolous motions.

Trump tried and failed three times just last week to delay the case even more.

trials.

What about here?

family members of the parties and witnesses for fear that could discourage people from

testifying truthfully.

Merchan wrote earlier this month, the threat is very real.

The judicial system could be undermined.

How does this process work or how's it going to work in such a high profile case?

They'll be asked to respond to a series of questions that will not be asked, who are

you going to vote for in 2024?

But they can be questioned on whether they or someone they're close to has worked or

volunteered for or against Trump, whether they're a member of QAnon, the Oath Keepers,

Antifa or other extremist groups.

And they can be asked whether they have such strong feelings about Trump, they can't be

fair and impartial.

given that he is so famous?

or his business in New York.

And at the end of the day, each of them has ended up with a jury.

In this case, it's expected to take about two weeks.

Yes.

And then the trial itself?

Trump will be in court four days a week from now until jurors determine whether beyond

any reasonable doubt he committed these 34 felonies.

Andrea, thank you.

starting with today's jury selection.

How do jurors get picked in a case where the defendant is a former president?

Listen later today.

And that's up first for Monday, April 15th.

I'm Michelle Martin.

Our new election year series, We the Voters, starts today.

NPR is taking a closer look at issues at the forefront of American life.

In Philadelphia, nearly 2,000 people lost their lives to violence over the past four

years.

The overwhelming majority of cases involved a firearm.

Listen to your local NPR station or find our coverage on the NPR app.

Lisa Thompson, and Ben Adler.

It was produced by Ziad Butch, Ben Abrams, and Nina Kravinsky.

We get engineering support from Phil Edfors, and our technical director is Zach Coleman.

Start your day here with us tomorrow.