Retaliatory attack? Middle East tense as Israel strikes Iran military targets
TEL AVIV: Israel’s military said that it launched “precise strikes” on military targets in Iran early Saturday morning. The strikes against Iran were in response to “months of continuous attacks” from Tehran. Israel said the air strikes on the military facilities in Iran are completed. Iran informed that two soldiers were killed in the air strikes. Iran’s state TV also confirmed that several strong explosions were heard around the capital, but there was no official comment about the source of the explosions. A few hours later, several explosions were heard in the capital Tehran, which the Iranian state media said was because of the activation of air defence systems. According to Fox News, the White House was notified shortly before Israel carried out air strikes on Iran.
Iran is prepared to respond to any Israeli “aggression,” Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency reported, citing sources. “There is no doubt that Israel will face a proportional reaction for any action it takes,” Tasnim quotes the sources as saying. The Israeli military said its aircraft targeted facilities that Iran used to make the missiles fired at Israel as well as surface-to-air missile sites. There was no immediate indication that oil or missile sites were hit — strikes that would have marked a much more serious escalation — and Israel offered no immediate damage assessment.
Explosions could be heard in the Iranian capital, Tehran, though the Islamic Republic insisted they caused only “limited damage” and Iranian state-run media downplayed the attacks. Iran’s army said two of its troops had been killed in the attack, Iran’s Al-Alam television reported.
Still, the strikes risk pushing the arch-enemies closer to all-out war at a time of spiralling violence across the Middle East, where militant groups backed by Iran — including Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon — are already at war with Israel.
Following the airstrikes, Iran’s Foreign Ministry issued a statement saying it had a right to self-defence, and “considers itself entitled and obligated to defend against foreign acts of aggression.”
“Iran attacked Israel twice, including in locations that endangered civilians, and has paid the price for it,” said Israeli military spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari. “We are focused on our war objectives in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon. It is Iran that continues to push for a wider regional escalation.”
Photos and video released by Israel showed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, wearing a black casual jacket, and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant meeting with military advisers and others in a conference room at a military command and control centre in the Kirya military base in Tel Aviv.
The strikes filled the air for hours until sunrise in Iran. They marked the first time Israel’s military has openly attacked Iran, which hasn’t faced a sustained barrage of fire from a foreign enemy since its 1980s war with Iraq.
Israel is also widely thought to have been behind a limited airstrike in April near a major air base in Iran in which the radar system for a Russian-made air defence battery was hit. Saturday’s attack came as part of Israel’s “duty to respond” to attacks on it from “Iran and its proxies in the region,” Hagari said.
“The Israel Defence Forces has fulfilled its mission,” Hagari said. “If the regime in Iran were to make the mistake of beginning a new round of escalation, we will be obligated to respond.”
Israel’s attack effectively sent the message to Iran that it would not remain silent, while not taking out highly visible or symbolic facilities that could prompt an significant response from Iran, said Yoel Guzansky, a researcher at Tel Aviv’s Institute for National Security Studies who formerly worked for Israel’s National Security Council.
At the same time, it also gives Israel room for further escalation if needed, and the targeting of air defence systems weakens Iran’s capabilities to defend against future attacks, he said, adding that if there is Iranian retaliation, he expects it to be limited.
“There’s more chances of Iranian restraint because of their interests, because of pressure from the outside, and because of the nature of the Israeli attack … that allows them to save face,” he said.
In the aftermath of the strikes, the streets of the Iranian capital were calm, children went to school and shops opened as usual, with the only sign of concern being long lines at the gas stations — a regular occurrence in Tehran when military violence flares or during natural disasters when people stock up on fuel.
Meanwhile, the UN said it is “deeply alarmed” over recent Israeli airstrikes on Iran, urging an immediate end to escalating tensions in the Middle East. “All acts of escalation are condemnable and must stop,” Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, said in a statement.
India said it was deeply concerned over the “evolving escalation” in West Asia and urged all sides to exercise restraint and return to the path of dialogue and diplomacy.
“Our Missions in the region are in contact with the Indian community,” the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in a statement.
“We are deeply concerned by the evolving escalation in West Asia and its ramifications for peace and stability in the region and beyond,” the MEA said.
“We reiterate our call to all concerned to exercise restraint and return to the path of dialogue and diplomacy. The ongoing hostilities are to nobody’s benefit, even as innocent hostages and civilian populations continue to suffer,” it said.
Mixed reactions at home and abroad
Israel’s opposition leader, Yair Lapid, criticised the decision to avoid “strategic and economic targets” in the attack. “We could and should have exacted a much heavier price from Iran,” Lapid wrote on X.
The United States warned against further retaliation, indicating that the overnight strikes should end the direct exchange of fire between Israel and Iran, and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said “Iran should not respond.”
“We need to avoid further regional escalation and urge all sides to show restraint,” he said while attending a summit in Samoa.
Saudi Arabia was one of multiple countries in the region condemning the strike, calling it a violation of Iran’s “sovereignty and a violation of international laws and norms.”
The kingdom’s foreign ministry said it rejected the escalation in the region and “the expansion of the conflict that threatens the security and stability of the countries and people of the region.”
Iran-backed Hamas called the attack “an escalation targeting the region’s security and its people’s safety.”
Nuclear facilities and oil installations were all seen as possible targets for Israel’s response to Iran’s October 1 attack, before US President Joe Biden’s administration won assurances from Israel in mid-October that it would not hit such targets, which would be a more severe escalation.
Iran’s military said the strikes targeted military bases in Ilam, Khuzestan and Tehran provinces, without elaborating.
It closed its airspace during the attack but Iran’s Civil Aviation Organisation said flights were resuming at 9 am, Iranian state news agency IRNA reported.
Iran may be trying to bring an end to the escalating tit-for-tat attacks. Iran’s move to quickly downplay the attack may offer an avenue for it not to respond, averting further escalation.
