Israel attacks Iran with a series of airstrikes on military infrastructure

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Israel has launched an attack on military targets in Iran Series of air strikes before dawn Saturday in retaliation for the Ballistic missile barrage The Islamic Republic fired on Israel earlier this month.

The Israeli military said its planes attacked facilities used by Iran to produce the missiles fired at Israel, as well as surface-to-air missile sites. There were no immediate signs that oil or missile sites were hit – attacks that would have represented a much more serious escalation – and Israel offered no immediate damage assessment.

Explosions were heard in the Iranian capital Tehran, although the Islamic Republic insisted they caused only “limited damage” and Iranian state media played down the attacks. The Iranian army said two of its soldiers were killed in the attack, Iranian Al-Alam television reported.

Still, the attacks risk bringing the sworn enemies closer to all-out war at a time of crisis Spiral of violence in the Middle Eastwhere militant groups supported by Iran – including Hamas in Gaza And Hezbollah in Lebanon – are already in the war with Israel.

After the airstrikes, Iran's Foreign Ministry issued a statement saying it has a right to self-defense and “considers itself entitled and obliged to defend itself against foreign acts of aggression.”

The first open Israeli attack on Iran

“Iran attacked Israel twice, including in places where civilians were at risk, and paid the price,” Israeli military spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said.

“We are concentrating on our war aims in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon. It is Iran that continues to push for broader regional escalation.”

Photos and videos released by Israel showed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wearing a black casual jacket and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant meeting with military advisers and others in a conference room at a military command and control center at the Kirya military base in Tel Aviv.

The attacks filled the air for hours until sunrise in Iran. They marked the first time the Israeli military has openly attacked Iran, which has not faced sustained fire from a foreign enemy since its war with Iraq in the 1980s.

It is also widely believed that Israel has your back Limited air strike in April The radar system of a Russian-made air defense battery was hit near a major air base in Iran.

Saturday's attack was part of Israel's “duty to respond to attacks by Iran and its proxies in the region,” Hagari said.

“The Israel Defense Forces have accomplished their mission,” Hagari said. “If the regime in Iran were to make the mistake of initiating a new round of escalation, we would be obliged to respond.”

The Israeli strike effectively signaled to Iran that it will not remain silent and will not destroy any clearly visible or symbolic facilities that could trigger a significant response from Iran, said Yoel Guzansky, a former researcher at the Tel Aviv-based Institute for National Security Studies Israel's National Security Council.

At the same time, it also gives Israel scope for further escalation if necessary, and the attacks on air defense systems weaken Iran's ability to defend itself against future attacks, he said, adding that he expects Iranian retaliation to be limited should a further escalation occur.

“Because of their interests, because of outside pressure and because of the nature of the Israeli attack, there is a greater chance for Iran to hold back… that allows it to save face,” he said.

After the attacks, the streets of the Iranian capital were calm, children went to school and shops opened as usual. The only sign of concern was the long lines at gas stations – a regular occurrence in Tehran when military violence breaks out or during natural disasters when people are stockpiling fuel.

Mixed reactions at home and abroad

Israel's opposition leader Yair Lapid criticized the decision to avoid “strategic and economic targets” in the attack.

“We could and should have demanded a much higher price from Iran,” Lapid wrote on X.

The United States warned of further retaliation and suggested the nightly attacks were intended to end the direct exchange of fire between Israel and Iran, and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said “Iran should not respond.”

“We must avoid further regional escalation and call on all sides to show restraint,” he said while attending a summit in Samoa.

Saudi Arabia was one of several countries in the region to condemn the attack, calling it a “violation of Iran's sovereignty and a violation of international laws and norms.”

The kingdom's foreign ministry said it rejected escalation in the region and “the expansion of the conflict, which threatens the security and stability of countries and people in the region.”

Iran-backed Hamas called the attack “an escalation aimed at regional and population security.”

Nuclear facilities and oil facilities were all considered possible targets for Israel's response to the Oct. 1 Iranian attack before U.S. President Joe Biden's administration won Reassurances from Israel In mid-October, he declared that he would not achieve such goals, which would mean an even more serious escalation.

The Iranian military said the strikes hit military bases in Ilam, Khuzestan and Tehran provinces, without elaborating.

Airspace was closed during the attack, but Iran's Civil Aviation Organization said flights would resume at 9 a.m., Iran's state news agency IRNA reported.

Iranian state media confirmed that explosions were heard in Tehran and said some of the sounds came from air defense systems around the city. But beyond a brief note, Iranian state television gave no further details for hours.

Iran may be trying to put an end to the escalating attacks

Iran's attempt to quickly downplay the attack could provide an opportunity to not respond and thus avert further escalation.

Iran fired a wave of missiles and drones in Israel in April after two Iranian generals were killed in an apparent Israeli airstrike in Syria on an Iranian diplomatic post. The missiles and drones caused minimal damageand Israel, under pressure from Western countries to show restraint, responded with a limited attack on which it did not comment openly.

Dozens were killed and thousands injured in Lebanon in September Pagers and walkie-talkies The attacks used by Hezbollah exploded into two days of attacks attributed to Israel. A massive Israeli airstrike outside Beirut the following week killed Hezbollah's long-time leader, Hassan Nasrallahand several of his top commanders.

On October 1, Iran fired at least 180 rockets at Israel in retaliation, causing the Israelis to take refuge in bomb shelters, but causing minimal damage and some injuries.

Netanyahu immediately said Iran had “made a big mistake.”

Israel then increased pressure on Hezbollah by launching an attack Ground invasion in southern Lebanon. More than a million Lebanese were expelledand the death toll has risen sharply from airstrikes in and around Beirut.

The antipathy between the two countries goes back decades

Israel and Iran have been bitter enemies since the Islamic Revolution in 1979. Israel considers Iran to be its greatest threat, citing its leaders' calls for the destruction of Israel, their support of anti-Israel militant groups, etc the country's nuclear program.

During their years-long shadow war, a suspected Israeli assassination campaign killed top Iranian nuclear scientists and hacked or sabotaged Iranian nuclear facilities – all mysterious attacks attributed to Israel.

Meanwhile, Iran has been blamed for a series of attacks on shipping in the Middle East in recent years, which later expanded into a series of attacks on shipping in the Middle East Houthi rebel attacks in Yemen on shipping through the Red Sea corridor.

The shadow war has increasingly come into the light since October 7, 2023, as Hamas and others Militants attacked Israel. They killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took about 250 hostages to Gaza. In response, Israel launched one devastating air and ground offensive against Hamas, and Netanyahu has vowed to continue the fight until all hostages are released. About 100 remain, about a third of whom are believed to be dead.

More than 42,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, according to local health authorities, who make no distinction between civilians and combatants but say more than half of the dead were women and children.

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Gambrell reported from Dubai and Schreck from Jerusalem. United Arab Emirates. Associated Press writer Amir Vahdat in Tehran, Iran; Abby Sewell in Beirut; Lolita C. Baldor, Farnoush Amiri and Zeke Miller in Washington; David Rising in Bangkok; and Aamer Madhani in Wilmington, Delaware, contributed to this report.

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