Israel has been expecting his for weeks Retaliation against Iran carried out. The Israeli military announced early Saturday morning that it was “currently carrying out precision attacks on military targets in Iran in response to the Iranian regime’s ongoing attacks on Israel for months.” Iranian media reported explosions in the west of the capital Tehran. Israel also attacked Syria once again.
Iranian state television reported that air defenses had been activated. Iran’s air defense command said the attacks targeted military bases in Tehran, Khuzestan and Ilam provinces. The air defense successfully repelled the attacks and the damage was “limited”. There was initially no more detailed information.
Israel later declared its attacks ended. The Israeli military announced early Saturday morning that the mission had been accomplished. “Our aircraft returned home safely.” The retaliatory strike targeted missile production facilities and missile launch facilities in Iran. “We carried out targeted and precise attacks on military targets in Iran, thereby averting immediate threats to the State of Israel,” military spokesman Daniel Hagari said in a video. “If the Iranian regime makes the mistake of initiating a new round of escalation, we will be forced to respond,” he added.
Counterattack to rocket attack
The Israeli military said during the attacks that the Iranian regime and its proxies in the region have been relentlessly attacking Israel since October 7 last year – on seven fronts – including direct strikes from Iranian soil. “Like every other sovereign country in the world, the State of Israel has the right and duty to respond.” The defensive and offensive capabilities are fully mobilized. “We will do whatever is necessary to defend the State of Israel and the Israeli people.”
The counterstrike followed the recent Iranian missile attack. On October 1, the Revolutionary Guards, Iran’s elite military force, fired around 200 ballistic missiles at Israel. The attack came after a series of targeted killings on Iranian territory by Israel targeting key players in Iran’s network of non-state allies. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards have repeatedly emphasized in recent days that they want to respond decisively to an Israeli attack.
Iran’s next reaction?
And now, according to the Tasnim news agency, the mouthpiece of the Revolutionary Guards, Iran once again reserves the right to respond to Israel’s attack. Iran is prepared for this, the agency reported, citing insiders. “There is no doubt that Israel will face an appropriate response to its actions,” an insider was quoted as saying.
Meanwhile, the state news agency IRNA reported, citing emergency service circles, that no victims were reported in Tehran. The internet in the capital was severely throttled. According to state media, Iran has temporarily closed its airspace. All flights were canceled, the state news agency IRNA reported, citing a spokesman for the civil aviation authority.
According to the Iranian Fars agency, military bases in the south and southwest of Tehran were the target of the attacks. According to other Iranian media, there were also detonations in the city of Karaj near Tehran. The exact extent of the attacks was not initially clear. There was initially no official confirmation of this.
Hezbollah militia shelling
After the Israeli retaliatory strike began, there was another rocket alarm in northern Israel. The Israeli army said warning sirens were sounding in the coastal town of Nahariya and surrounding areas. There were initially no reports of possible victims. The Lebanese Hezbollah militia, allied with Iran, has been shelling Israel since the Gaza war began a year ago. Israel responded with massive air strikes and now also a ground offensive. Two men were injured by rocket debris in Nahariya on Thursday.
According to media reports, the Israeli cabinet authorized the retaliatory strike on Iran shortly before the attack. A corresponding telephone conference with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant took place on Friday evening, the Haaretz newspaper reported. It was said that ministers had been informed in recent days about the scope of the apparent attack plan. Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi was directing the attack on Iran from the Israeli Air Force’s underground command center at military headquarters in Tel Aviv, along with Air Force Commander Tomer Bar, the Israeli army said.
The attack on Iran began during the Jewish day of rest, Sabbath. The high Jewish holidays had previously ended on Thursday evening.
USA was not involved
According to a White House spokesman, the United States was aware of Israel’s actions but was not involved in the operation. Washington described Israel’s attacks on targets in Iran as “self-defense maneuvers.” The “targeted attacks on military targets” are also a response to the Iranian missile attack on Israel on October 1st, said National Security Council spokesman Sean Savett on Friday (local time) in Washington. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned on Wednesday that Israel’s retaliatory measures should not lead to further escalation in the Middle East.
According to US media reports, the Israeli attacks on Iran do not target Iranian nuclear facilities or oil fields. The attack was actually focused on military targets, ABC and NBC reported. In recent weeks, the USA had urged Israel not to attack Iranian oil and nuclear facilities. According to the New York Times, White House and Pentagon officials had consulted closely with Israel in recent days about the scope and nature of targets Israel could attack in Iran.
According to the Syrian state news agency SANA, Israel also shelled military facilities in central and southern Syria on Saturday night. The rockets came from the direction of the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights and Lebanon and some of them could have been intercepted, the agency reported. According to SANA, there had previously been explosions near the capital Damascus. The Syrian regime is allied with Israel’s arch-enemy Iran.