Israel strikes Iran in retaliation for missile attack, risks escalating Middle East war

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Israel launched a series of airstrikes against Iran early Saturday, saying it had targeted military targets in response to ballistic missile fire the Islamic Republic fired at Israel earlier this month.

Explosions could be heard in Iran’s capital, Tehran, although the Islamic Republic insisted they caused only “limited damage”.

The attack risks pushing the archenemies closer to all-out war amid spiraling violence in the Middle East, where Iran-backed militant groups, including Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon, are already fighting Israel.

On Saturday, the Israeli military openly attacked Iran for the first time, which has not faced a sustained barrage of fire from a foreign enemy since the 1980s war with Iraq.

The hours-long Israeli attack ended shortly before sunrise in Tehran, with the Israeli military saying the target was “missile factories used to produce rockets that Iran has fired at the State of Israel over the past year.” It also said it hit surface-to-air missile sites and “additional Iranian air assets.”

Israel has not provided an initial damage estimate.

Initially, nuclear facilities and oil installations were considered possible targets for Israel’s response to the October 1 attack on Iran, but in mid-October the Biden administration received assurances from Israel that it would not strike such targets because it would be more serious. escalation.

“The regime in Iran and its proxies in the region have relentlessly attacked Israel since October 7, … including direct attacks from Iranian soil,” Israeli military spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said in a pre-recorded video statement early Saturday. “Like any other sovereign country in the world, the State of Israel has the right and duty to respond.”

Iran’s armed forces said the strikes targeted military bases in Ilam, Khuzestan and Tehran provinces and caused “limited damage,” without elaborating.

The United States warned against further retaliation, saying the overnight strikes were meant to end direct fire between Israel and Iran.

Israel’s armed forces said explosions were heard in northern Israel following their activity in southern Lebanon, but “there was no indication of a security incident”.

Iran downplays Israeli attack

Iranian state media acknowledged the explosions heard in Tehran and said some of the sounds came from air defense systems around the city.

But apart from the brief mention, Iranian state television gave no other details for several hours and even began showing what it described as live footage of men loading trucks at a vegetable market in Tehran in an apparent attempt to downplay the attack.

A resident of Tehran told The Associated Press that at least seven explosions were heard during the first wave of attacks, which shook the neighborhood. The resident wished to remain anonymous for fear of reprisals.

As the explosions rang out, people in Tehran saw what appeared to be a tracer fire in the sky. Other footage showed the launch of a surface-to-air missile.

Iran closed the country’s airspace early Saturday, and flight tracking data analyzed by the AP showed that commercial airlines had largely left the skies over Iran, but also over Iraq, Syria and Lebanon.

Iran’s move to quickly downplay the attack could offer it an opportunity not to respond, which could risk further escalation.

“The Israel Defense Forces have accomplished their mission,” Hagari said in a video released later. “If the regime in Iran makes the mistake of starting a new round of escalation, we will be obliged to respond.”

Israel’s attack was a response to Iran’s attacks

Iran fired a barrage of missiles and drones at Israel in April after two Iranian generals were killed in an apparent Israeli airstrike in Syria on an Iranian diplomatic post. The rockets and drones caused minimal damage, and Israel — under pressure from Western countries to exercise restraint — responded with a limited strike that it did not publicly announce.

Iran fired at least 180 rockets into Israel on the evening of October 1, forcing the Israelis to retreat to bomb shelters but causing only minimal damage and a few injuries. Iran said the shelling was in retaliation for attacks in recent months that have killed leaders of Hezbollah, Hamas and the Iranian military. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu immediately declared that Iran “made a big mistake”.

Before Iran’s attack in October, Israel launched a series of devastating strikes against Hezbollah, which has been shelling Israel almost daily for more than a year since the deadly Hamas attack on Israel that sparked the Gaza war.

Dozens were killed and thousands injured in September when pagers and walkie-talkies used by Hezbollah exploded in two days of attacks attributed to Israel. A massive Israeli airstrike the following week near Beirut killed longtime Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and several of his top commanders.

Israel then increased pressure on Hezbollah by launching a ground invasion of southern Lebanon. More than a million Lebanese were left homeless and the death toll rose sharply due to airstrikes in and around Beirut.

Israel has said it will continue to strike Hezbollah until Israeli citizens displaced from their homes near the Lebanese border are safe to return. Hezbollah has vowed to continue firing rockets at Israel until there is a ceasefire in Gaza.

The US warns against retaliation

The White House said Israel’s strikes on Iran should end direct fire between the two hostile nations, while warning Tehran of “consequences” if it retaliates.

A senior White House official said the administration believes the Israeli operation should “shut down” direct military exchanges between Israel and Iran, and said other allies agree.

United States President Joe Biden was updated on the Israeli operation, the official said, stressing that the US was not involved in the attack.

The official, who spoke to reporters on condition of anonymity under ground rules set by the White House, said the Israeli operation “was large-scale, targeted, precise.”

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke with his Israeli counterpart, Yoav Gallant, about Israel’s strikes on military targets in Iran, Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said Friday evening.

Austin reiterated that the US is committed to the security of its ally and that Israel has the right to defend itself, although Washington is determined to prevent an escalation of the conflict, a Pentagon spokesman said in a statement.

Israel’s strike is the latest in a series of wars in the Middle East

When Hamas and other militants attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, they killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took about 250 hostages in Gaza. In response, Israel launched a devastating air and ground offensive against Hamas, and Netanyahu vowed to continue the fight until all the hostages were freed. About 100 remain, and about a third are believed to be dead.

More than 42,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, according to local health officials, who do not distinguish between civilians and combatants, but say more than half of the dead are women and children.

Israel and Iran have been bitter enemies since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Israel views Iran as its biggest threat, citing its leaders’ calls for the destruction of Israel, their support for anti-Israel militants and the country’s nuclear program.

During their years-long shadow war, an alleged Israeli assassination campaign has killed top Iranian nuclear scientists, and Iranian nuclear facilities have been hacked or sabotaged, all in mysterious attacks blamed on Israel.

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

After the Hamas attack on October 7, the shadow war is increasingly coming to light.

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Associated Press writers Amir Vahdat in Tehran, Iran; Tia Goldenberg in Tel Aviv, Israel; Abby Sewell in Beirut; and Lolita K. Baldor, Farnoosh Amiri, and Zeke Miller in Washington; and Aamer Madhani in Wilmington, Delaware contributed to this report.