Defense stocks are gaining at writing following reports that Iran has launched a ballistic missile attack on Israel. The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) made that announcement only hours after a senior White House official warned that Iran is preparing for such an attack.

Iran fired a salvo of ballistic missiles at Israel on Tuesday in retaliation for Israel's campaign against Tehran's Hezbollah allies in Lebanon. Alarms sounded across Israel and explosions could be heard in Jerusalem and the Jordan River valley after Israelis piled into bomb shelters.

U.S. aerospace and defense companies such as Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT), Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) and RTX (NYSE:RTX) rose on Tuesday as Iran attacked Israel with ballistic missiles. The attack had been anticipated throughout much of the day,

Israel has plunged Hezbollah into disarray and decapitated its leadership. How Iran will react is an open question.

Benjamin Netanyahu vowed retaliation against Iran after it fired scores of missiles at Israel on Tuesday. Speaking at the outset of a political security meeting several hours after the attack, the Israeli prime minister said “Iran made a big mistake tonight — and it will pay for it”.

Netanyahu says Iran "made a big mistake" in attacking Israel with missiles and "will pay for it."

New York City residents will notice a more visible police presence after Iran's attacks on Israel. The NYPD says so far there have been no credible threats in the city, though concerns remain about a "lone wolf" attacker.