Footage 'shows terrified Iranians queuing for petrol as they prepare to flee for possible Israeli retaliation for missile and drone attack'

Terrified Iranians appear to be queuing for petrol as they prepare to flee possible Israeli retaliation for Tehran's weekend drone and missile attack, according to footage that has emerged from the country.

Video, captured by a person inside a car driving down a road, shows hundreds of cars in a traffic jam going in the opposite direction.

According to social media profiles sharing the video, the cars seen in the queue are waiting to get into a petrol station, preparing to flee Tehran.

This comes amid fears that Israel could strike back against the Islamic Republic after Iran launched more than 300 drones and missiles on Saturday night.

Israel said 99 percent of the projectiles were shot down before reaching their targets. However, calls are mounting in the Jewish State for a strong response.

Meanwhile allies, including the US and the UK, are urging restraint.

While it is not yet clear how Israel intends to respond, the footage suggests people in Iran and worried the Jewish state could launch strikes deep into Iran.

It was not clear exactly where the footage was captured, but posts online said the Iranian capital of Tehran - some 960 miles from Jerusalem.

Iran's attack on Saturday night saw Israel's air defences activated across the country, with footage from Jerusalem showing IDF missiles intercepted those from Iran.

Iran launched the attack, its first ever to directly target Israeli territory, in retaliation for a deadly air strike widely blamed on Israel that destroyed Tehran's consular building in Syria's capital early this month.

The strikes raise Middle East tensions to a dangerous new level six months into a deadly conflict between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas in Gaza, prompting international cries of alarm.

Now all eyes are on Tel-Aviv, with the next move of Benjamin Netanyahu and his War Cabinet set to tip the scales toward an uneasy peace - or all-out war.

The cabinet has weighed Israel's response to the Iranian attack, but the prime minister has not made any public comments. 

Benny Gantz, Israel's former defence minister and a member of the War Cabinet said cryptically this morning that Tel-Aviv 'will collect the price from Iran, in the way and at the time that suits us' - but for now the exact course of action remains a mystery.

World powers have urged restraint for fear that Iran's unprecedented missile and drone strikes on Israel could spark a wider war in the Middle East.

'Neither the region nor the world can afford more war,' UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres told the body's Security Council as it met to discuss Iran's attack.

'The Middle East is on the brink,' he warned. 

'The people of the region are confronting a real danger of a devastating full-scale conflict. Now is the time to defuse and de-escalate.'

Israel's UN envoy, Gilad Erdan, urged the Council to 'impose all possible sanctions on Iran before it's too late' and 'condemn Iran for their terror'.

G7 leaders earlier said they were ready to 'take further measures' in response to 'destabilising initiatives'.

Iran's UN envoy, Amir Saeid Iravani, retorted that the Islamic republic was exercising its 'inherent right to self-defence' and 'had no choice' but to act. 

He insisted his country did 'not seek escalation or war', but would respond to any 'threat or aggression'.

Analysts have told MailOnline they expect to see Israel strike back against Iran's proxy forces in Iraq and Syria - and possibly Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Justin Crump, British army veteran and CEO of global risk analysis firm Sibylline, said he also expected to see Israel's allies implement more sanctions on Tehran.

'Israel's allies are signalling that they expect international pressure on Iran to be increased, and are hoping that this sort of action - for example - will suffice to mitigate an Israeli response,' he said. 'This seems uncertain, with hawks on all sides arguing that Iran will remain a particular threat.

'Drone factories, missile development sites and nuclear sites are high on any potential target list. Meanwhile, allied strikes against targets in Syria and Iraq will likely also increase as an attempt to mollify the Israeli position.'

Mr Crump also said the situation has likely strengthened Netanyahu's position.

The situation has certainly helped Israel and its leadership, reversing the trend of pressure over Gaza and helping defuse some political tensions that were once again building,' he said. 

'Permacrisis suits Netanyahu at this stage and it is to be expected that he will leverage this environment. The Israeli public stance from the war cabinet will therefore remain belligerent, whatever goes on behind the scenes.'

As for whether the conflict could escalate further, Mr Crump said that now 'lies firmly in Israel's court and will rely largely on what is considered in the best interests of the embattled state.'

'But,' he warned, 'the slide into full conflicts often emerges quickly and in this environment small miscalculations can have enormous consequences - especially when so many on all sides are partly cheering on a conflict.'

Through Saturday night, air raid sirens wailed and Israelis sought cover in bunkers and shelters as missile defence systems and warplanes intercepted the missiles.

Israel and its allies intercepted the vast majority of the more than 300 incoming projectiles, the Israeli army said, reporting 12 people injured and no deaths, but the attack sharply heightened fears of an Israeli counterstrike.

'Together we thwarted Iran's attack, Israeli military spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said in a televised statement.

'This was the first time that such a coalition worked together against the threat of Iran and its proxies in the Middle East.'

G7 leaders condemned Iran's attack and called for 'restraint' on all sides, European Council President Charles Michel wrote on X after a video conference.

'We will continue all our efforts to work towards de-escalation. Ending the crisis in Gaza as soon as possible, notably through an immediate ceasefire, will make a difference.'

Israel's top ally the United States also urged caution and calm.

'We don't want to see this escalate,' White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told NBC. 'We're not looking for a wider war with Iran.'

A senior US official said President Joe Biden had told Netanyahu that Washington would not offer military support for any retaliation on Iran.

'We would not be a part of any response they do,' the official told reporters on a call, speaking on condition of anonymity. 

'We would not envision ourselves participating in such an act.'

Biden reaffirmed the US' 'ironclad' support for Israel, but also appeared to guide it away from a military response against the two countries' common adversary, Iran.

News outlet Axios reported that Biden had told Netanyahu he should 'take the win', and that Washington would oppose an Israeli counterattack.

Before Tehran attacked, Israel's military had warned Iran it would suffer the 'consequences for choosing to escalate the situation any further'.

Netanyahu on Sunday met with his war cabinet, formed at the outset of the Gaza conflict following the bloody October 7 attack on Israel by Hamas.

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi on Sunday cautioned Israel against a 'reckless' retaliation, warning this would spark 'a decisive and much stronger response'.

Iran's mission to the United Nations also warned Washington to keep out of its conflict with Israel.

It added in a message on X that 'the matter can be deemed concluded'.

'However, should the Israeli regime make another mistake, Iran's response will be considerably more severe.'

Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said on Sunday that 'the campaign is not over yet - we must remain alert'.

Iran said its attack came in response to the April 1 air strike on Tehran's consulate building in Damascus, which killed seven Revolutionary Guards including two generals.

The Israeli military said that while 170 drones and 30 cruise missiles were shot down before reaching Israel, a few of the 110 ballistic missiles did get through.

One of those wounded was a seven-year-old girl near Israel's southern town of Arad who was in intensive care.

Iran's allies, including Lebanon's Hezbollah, joined the attack. Yemen's Iran-backed Huthi rebels also launched drones at Israel, security agency Ambrey said.

Officials said British and other allied jets and Jordanian defences also shot down incoming projectiles, mostly before they reached Israeli airspace.