Middle East awaits Iran's response to Israeli attack as Tehran says it is 'justified' to defend itself – live | Israel

Iransaid the mission to the United Nations Israeli From there, warplanes attacked several Iranian military and radar sites Iraqi airspace, and blamed the US for what it called its “complicity.”

IranThe military has announced the deaths of two more soldiers IsraelThe attacks on the country have brought the total death toll to four.

All four men served in the country's military air defense, it said.

Simon Tisdall

for years, Israel And Iran have waged a “shadow war,” attacking each other indirectly through proxy forces, assassinations, informants, spies, and hybrid, non-military covert means.

Now this undeclared, largely silent war is blatantly obvious. It's turned into a firefight, it's loud, it's escalating and there's no end in sight.

This is not to say that Israel's large-scale, three-wave airstrike on Tehran and other targets in Iran early Saturday morning means that the two enemies are now in full-scale conflict.

This is not yet the large-scale, regional conflagration that many in the Middle East fear. That may come, but it is still in the future.

What Israel's attack – in retaliation for Iran's 181-missile barrage earlier this month – means that another psychological barrier has been overcome.

Before the massacres of Israelis by Iran's ally Hamas on October 7, a direct military confrontation on each other's soil was hardly conceivable. It seemed too risky. Now it is normalized.

Read the full analysis: The shadow war between Iran and Israel is evident and will only escalate if the causes are not addressed

Hezbollah has condemned Israel's attack against Iran, He speaks of a “dangerous escalation in the region”.

The US “Bear full responsibility for the massacres, tragedies and pain caused by Israel,” the group said.

The UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, is “deeply concerned” by the escalation in the Middle East following attacks by Israeli forces overnight Iran, according to his spokesman.

“All acts of escalation are reprehensible and must stop,” Guterres said in the statement, adding:

The Secretary General urgently reiterates his call on all parties to cease all military actions, including in Gaza and Lebanon, to make maximum efforts to prevent a full-scale regional war and to return to the path of diplomacy.

Joe Biden, The US President said he hoped so Israeli continues to beat Iran “The end” came overnight.

Biden also said it appears that Israel only attacked military targets in its attack on Iran.

Iran said three sites were hit and “limited damage” was caused.

Lebanonsaid the Ministry of Health Israeli The attacks killed 19 people in the country on Friday, bringing the total number of deaths since October 2023 to 2,653.

It is just after 6:30 p.m. in Tehran and 6 p.m. in Tel Aviv. Here you will find a summary of the latest developments:

• According to the official IRNA news agency, two soldiers were killed in Israeli air strikes on Iran on Saturday morning. The attacks, carried out in retaliation for Iran's rocket fire on October 1, were heard for several hours in the capital Tehran and at nearby military bases.

• In addition to the EU, the countries that have warned of further escalation include Great Britain and the USA. Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Pakistan have all condemned the attacks.

• The Iranian Foreign Ministry has defended its right to “defend itself against aggressive actions from outside.” The ministry called the Israeli attack a violation of international law, adding that Tehran “recognizes its responsibility for peace and security in the region.”

• The internal debate over how Iran should respond centers on whether Israel's actions should be considered too serious to be ignored. or choose not to take retaliatory action based on advice from the region and the US.

• Hezbollah fired rockets at Israeli soldiers on the outskirts of the Lebanese village of Aita al-Shaab. and has also launched drones against an Israeli air base south of Tel Aviv. The “drone airstrike” against the Tel Nof base was the first attack of its kind in a year.

• Hezbollah also fired rockets at five residential areas in northern Israel on Saturday. including the outskirts of Krayot near Haifa. Elsewhere, the Israeli military said it killed a Hamas militant in a raid in the West Bank on Saturday.

• Israeli forces have withdrawn from a hospital complex in the north of the Gaza Strip a day after storming them. Medics said at least 44 of the 70-member team at Kamal Adwan Hospital in Jabalia were detained by the army and 14 were later released.