UPDATE - UK confirms its RAF jets shot down drones launched by Iran against Israel

UPDATES WITH STATEMENT BY DEFENSE SECRETARY; REVISES HEADLINE, EDITS THROUGHOUT

By Burak Bir

LONDON (AA) - The British prime minister confirmed on Sunday that Royal Air Force (RAF) planes shot down "a number of Iranian attack drones," launched against Israel Saturday night.

In a video shared on X, Rishi Sunak reiterated his condemnation over Iran's retaliatory attack against Israel, saying this was a "dangerous and unnecessary escalation."

He said that the missiles were intercepted thanks to an international coordinated effort, reminding that Britain has sent additional RAF planes to the region "as part of our existing operations to counter Daesh in Iraq and Syria."

"I can confirm that our planes did shoot down a number of Iranian attack drones," he said.

British Defense Secretary Grant Shapps, for his part, said the UK intercepted and destroyed "multiple one-way attack drones, launched by Iran and its proxies."

"Additional @RoyalAirForce aircraft were deployed this weekend to bolster our presence," he wrote on X.

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps launched a barrage of drones and missiles at Israel late on Saturday in response to the April 1 attack on the Iranian consulate in Damascus.

The IRGC is said to have fired more than 300 drones and missiles in an attack that lasted several hours, many of which were intercepted by Israeli air defense systems. The US and France also helped ward off the attack.