DUBAI/JERUSALEM, Oct. 26 – Israel struck military sites in Iran early yesterday, saying it was retaliating against Tehran’s missile attack on Israel this month, the latest clash in the escalating conflict between the heavily armed rivals.
Hours later the Israeli military said it had completed the strikes and achieved its objectives, warning Iran not to respond.
A semi-official Iranian news agency vowed a “Proportional reaction” to the Israeli moves against Tehran.
Iranian media reported multiple explosions over several hours in the capital and at nearby military bases, starting shortly after 2 a.m. (2230 GMT on Friday).
Before dawn, Israel’s public broadcaster said three waves of strikes had been completed and that the operation was over.
Iran said its air defence system successfully countered Israel’s attacks on military targets in the provinces of Tehran, Khuzestan and Ilam with “limited damage” to some locations. The Middle East has been on edge awaiting Israel’s retaliation for a ballistic-missile barrage carried out by Iran on October 1, in which it fired around 200 missiles at Israel, killing one person in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
Tensions between arch rivals Israel and Iran have escalated since Hamas, the Iran-backed Palestinian militant group based in Gaza, attacked Israel on October 7, 2023. Hamas has been supported by Lebanon-based Hezbollah militants, and also backed by Iran.
Fears that Iran and the US would be drawn into a regional war have arisen with Israel’s intensifying assault on Hezbollah since last month, including airstrikes on the Lebanese capital Beirut and a ground operation, and its year-old war in Gaza.
“In response to months of continuous attacks from the regime in Iran against the State of Israel – right now the Israel Defence Forces is conducting precise strikes on military targets in Iran,” according to Israel’s military.
The military said later it had completed its “targeted” attacks in Iran, striking missile manufacturing facilities and surface-to-air missile arrays, adding its planes had safely returned home.
US President Joe Biden had warned that Washington, Israel’s main backer and supplier of arms, would not support a strike on Tehran’s nuclear sites and had said Israel should consider alternatives to attacking Iran’s oil fields.
Iranian authorities have repeatedly warned Israel against any attack. “Iran reserves the right to respond to any aggression, and there is no doubt that Israel will face a proportional reaction for any action it takes,” according to the semi-official Tasnim news agency citing sources. A senior Biden official said Israel’s “targeted and proportional strikes” should be the end of the direct exchange of fire between the two countries, but the US was fully prepared to defend Israel again if Iran should choose to respond. – Reuters
