Night fell on Iran after several hours of Israeli airstrikes. The Israeli military said the attack was over but it was in retaliation for Iran’s barrage of ballistic missiles against Israel earlier this month and in April.
Israel’s military says Iran “reserves the right to defend its people” amid growing concerns that the long-running conflict between the two countries’ powerful militaries could escalate into a broader regional war that could involve the United States. He warned them not to escalate the situation further.
The Israeli military said it had attacked a manufacturing facility used to make missiles that Iran has launched into Israel over the past year. These manufacturing facilities also produce missiles launched by Iranian proxies Hezbollah, Hamas, and Yemen’s Houthi rebels, amid heightened tensions in the region since Israel invaded the Gaza Strip more than a year ago. It is unclear whether he did so.
Israel also said it attacked Iranian air defenses early Saturday morning, allowing its aircraft to attack other targets.
“The Israel Defense Forces completed precise and targeted strikes against military targets in many regions of Iran. Our plane returned home safely,” an Israeli military statement said.
Iran’s state-run Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) said some military facilities in Tehran, Iram and Khuzestan provinces were attacked, but air defenses were successful and damage was “limited.”
“The scale of this incident is under investigation,” IRNA said. Earlier, videos posted on social media by Tehran residents showed explosions in the sky and tracer shells rising from the city as dawn approached.
Videos broadcast by Iranian state media showed Tehran’s streets calm, traffic moving and people going about their daily business.
Israeli officials said Israel’s decision to carry out the attack early Saturday morning followed weeks of consultations within the security cabinet about the nature and scope of such an attack.
Preliminary reports indicate that the United States has pressured Israel not to attack Iran’s energy infrastructure for fear of provoking a wider conflict, but Israel appears to have heeded the request.
A senior U.S. official said after the airstrike that “this should be the end of the direct firefight between Israel and Iran.”
