Israel says it has launched direct airstrikes against Iranian military targets, a retaliation that could bring the Middle East closer to an all-out regional war.
The Israel Defense Forces announced Saturday morning that it had completed airstrikes on missile and drone manufacturing sites and air defense facilities in several regions of Iran. Israeli public broadcaster announced that three waves of airstrikes had been carried out.
Iran’s air defense authorities said Israel attacked military targets in Tehran, Khuzestan and Iram provinces, causing “limited damage” in some areas.
Footage broadcast by local media shows air defense forces continuously firing at projectiles that appear to be incoming in central Tehran, but it is unclear which locations are under attack. has not been disclosed.
State news agency IRNA reported that two soldiers were killed. “The Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran sacrificed two combatants while countering projectiles from the criminal Zionist regime in order to protect Iran’s security and protect its people and Iranian interests,” the statement said. said.
“Iran reserves the right to respond to any aggression and there is no doubt that any action taken by Israel will face a proportionate response,” the semi-official Tasnim news agency quoted sources as saying. ” he said.
A senior US official said the strikes were “wide-ranging” and “precise” against military targets across Iran. The US did not take part in the attack, but worked with the Israeli government to encourage low-risk attacks that would not harm civilians, the official said. “The effect was a proportionate self-defense response; the effect is to deter future attacks and reduce Iran’s ability to launch future attacks,” they said.
The official stressed that the United States views the operation as “an end to the gunfight between Israel and Iran.”
At least seven explosions were reported over the capital Tehran, nearby Qarazi and the eastern city of Mashhad at 2:30 a.m. local time on Saturday, and the attack lasted about four hours. Air defense systems were activated across the country.
Iranian media initially appeared to downplay the airstrike, showing footage of Tehran’s airport operating as usual. There was no immediate official comment from Tehran on the source of the explosion, and Iranian news outlets reported that an investigation was underway.
In a statement, the Israel Defense Forces acknowledged for the first time the attack on Iran, confirming that a decades-long shadow war between the nations has now begun openly. The military said dozens of fighter jets took part in the operation, code-named “Days of Repentance,” and all planes returned safely to base.
In a statement posted on said.
Saturday’s attack was widely expected to be in retaliation for the missile barrage in which Iran launched an estimated 180 ballistic missiles toward Tel Aviv and military bases on Oct. 1. The Iranian government said the unprecedented salvo was carried out in support of Lebanese ally Hezbollah after Israel’s ground invasion, and in response to the killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in the Iranian capital in July. said that it was done.
Most of the missiles were shot down, but dozens were successful in hitting Nevatim Air Base, allowing Iran to at least partially penetrate Israel’s high-tech air defense systems in some of its most heavily protected locations. showed. One person was killed in the occupied West Bank.
US President Joe Biden had said Israel must not target Iran’s nuclear or oil facilities to prevent an escalation of the conflict that could lead directly to war.
A miscalculation could push Iran and Israel into full-fledged hostility. The United States, Israel’s staunch ally and major arms supplier, is wary of getting drawn into the fighting and damaging the global oil industry.
Before Israel launched its airstrikes on Saturday, Iran had repeatedly warned Iran that there were “no red lines” it would cross on matters of national defense. Last week, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi also indirectly discouraged U.S. forces from operating in Israel after the U.S. sent a THAAD squadron of advanced missile defense systems and 100 troops to support the ally amid tensions. threatened.
But the commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards suggested on Thursday that Iran was unlikely to retaliate further if the Israeli attack was deemed “limited” and caused no casualties.
US news agency Axios reported on Saturday that US and Israeli officials assess that Iran will respond militarily, albeit to a limited extent. Israel also announced on Friday that it had sent a message to Iran warning it not to respond.
Israel’s domestic front guidelines for civilians remain unchanged, suggesting that Iranian retaliation is not expected to be imminent.
The Israeli military said in a statement on Saturday that the latest attacks, including an October 7, 2023 attack by the Iranian-aligned Palestinian group Hamas, killed 1,200 Israelis and abducted 250 others. , said it was in retaliation for a number of attacks against Israel.
Israel responded by launching a war in the Gaza Strip, which has destroyed the area and killed at least 42,000 Palestinians, according to the Hamas Health Ministry. Israel also launched an air campaign in Lebanon against Hezbollah, another powerful militia in Tehran’s “axis of resistance”, after a year in which cross-border fires displaced hundreds of thousands of people on both sides of the border. and began ground operations. . The fighting in Gaza involves other Iranian proxies operating in Syria, Iraq and Yemen.
A statement from the Israel Defense Forces said: “The Iranian regime and its proxies in the region have relentlessly attacked Israel on seven fronts since October 7, including direct attacks from mainland Iran. have corresponding rights and obligations.”
Israel already has ground operations in two different theaters and fears a costly war of attrition with Iran. After Tehran fired its first direct salvo at Israel in April in retaliation for the killing of a senior Iranian Revolutionary Guards commander in Syria, Israel heeded Western calls for restraint and Iran They attacked an air defense battery at an air base.
Israel’s Defense Minister Yoav Galant said this week that enemies would “pay a heavy price” for attempting to harm Israel.
A spokesperson said the White House was notified shortly before Israel carried out the airstrike on Iran, and President Joe Biden was closely monitoring developments. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Wednesday that Israeli retaliation should not lead to further escalation.
White House National Security Council Press Secretary Sean Savet said, “Israel conducted targeted attacks against Iranian military targets as an exercise of self-defense and in response to Iran’s ballistic missile attack on Israel on October 1.” We understand that.”
Syrian state media also reported that Syrian air defense forces intercepted “hostile targets” and “sounds of explosions” near the capital Damascus on Saturday.
