Israel attacks Iran in a series of pre-dawn airstrikes targeting its military infrastructure

TEL AVIV, Israel — Israel struck military targets in Iran before dawn Saturday with a series of airstrikes in retaliation for the barrage of ballistic missiles the Islamic Republic fired into Israel earlier this month.

The Israeli military said its planes targeted facilities Iran used to fire the missiles at Israel, as well as surface-to-air missile sites. There was no immediate indication that oil or missile sites were hit – attacks that would have marked a much more serious escalation – and Israel made 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. Iran’s military said two of its troops were killed in the attack, Iran’s Al-Alam television channel reported.

Still, the attacks threaten to push the archenemies closer to all-out war at a time of rising violence in the Middle East, where militant groups backed by Iran – including Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon – are already at war with Israel.

After the airstrikes, Iran’s Foreign Ministry issued a statement saying it has the right to self-defense and that it considers itself “the right and duty to defend itself against foreign aggression.”

The first open Israeli attack on Iran

“Iran has attacked Israel twice, including in locations that endangered civilians, and has paid the price,” Israeli military spokesman Daniel Hagari said.

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

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

The attacks filled the skies for hours until dawn in Iran. It was the first time the Israeli military openly attacked Iran, which has not faced a sustained barrage from a foreign enemy since the war with Iraq in the 1980s.

It is also widely believed that Israel was behind a limited airstrike in April near a major air base in Iran that hit the radar system for a Russian-made air defense battery.

Saturday’s attack came as part of Israel’s “duty to respond” to attacks on Israel from “Iran and its allies in the region,” Hagari said.

“The Israeli army has fulfilled its mission,” Hagari said. “If the regime in Iran makes the mistake of starting a new round of escalation, we will be obliged to respond.”

Israel’s attack essentially sent a message to Iran that it would not remain silent without taking out highly visible or symbolic facilities that could trigger a significant response from Iran, said Yoel Guzansky, a researcher at the Tel Aviv Institute for National Security studies who previously worked for the Israeli National Security Council.

At the same time, it also gives Israel room for further escalation if necessary, and targeting air defense systems weakens Iran’s ability to defend itself against future attacks, he said, adding that if there is Iranian retaliation, he expects it to be limited.

“There are more chances for Iranian restraint because of their interests, because of outside pressure, and because of the nature of the Israeli attack … allowing them to save face,” he said.

Mixed reactions at home and abroad

Israeli 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 indicated that the nighttime strikes should end the direct firefight between Israel and Iran, and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said: “Iran must not respond.”

“We must avoid further regional escalation and urge all parties to show restraint,” he said at a meeting in Samoa.

Saudi Arabia was among several countries in the region to condemn the strike, calling it a violation of Iranian sovereignty and a violation of international laws and norms.

The kingdom’s Foreign Ministry said it rejects 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 aimed at the security of the region and the security of its population.”

Nuclear facilities and oil installations were all seen as possible targets for Israel’s response to the October 1 Iranian attack, before US President Joe Biden’s administration received assurances from Israel in mid-October that it would not hit such targets, which would mean a more serious escalation. .

Iran’s military said the attacks targeted military bases in Ilam, Khuzestan and Tehran provinces, without elaborating.

The country closed its airspace during the attack, but Iran’s Civil Aviation Organization said flights resumed at 9 a.m., Iran’s state news agency IRNA reported.

Iranian state media acknowledged the explosions heard in Tehran and said some sounds came from air defense systems around the city. But other than a brief reference, Iranian state television offered no other details for hours.

Iran may be trying to put an end to the escalating tit-for-tat attacks

Iran’s move to quickly downplay the attack could provide an opportunity not to respond, preventing further escalation.

Iran fired a wave of missiles and drones into 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 damage, and Israel – under pressure from Western countries to show restraint – responded with a limited attack that it had not openly claimed.

In Lebanon, dozens were killed and thousands injured in September when pagers and walkie-talkies used by Hezbollah exploded during two days of attacks blamed on Israel. A massive Israeli airstrike outside Beirut the following week killed Hezbollah’s longtime leader, Hassan Nasrallah, and several of his top commanders.

On October 1, Iran launched at least 180 rockets into Israel in retaliation, sending Israelis into shelters but causing only minimal damage and some injuries.

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

Israel then increased pressure on Hezbollah by launching a ground invasion of southern Lebanon. More than a million Lebanese have been displaced and the death toll has risen sharply as a result of airstrikes in and around Beirut.

The antipathy between the two countries goes back decades

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

During their years-long shadow war, a suspected Israeli assassination campaign has killed top Iranian scientists and hacked or sabotaged Iranian nuclear facilities, 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 evolved into Yemen’s Houthi rebels’ attacks on shipping through the Red Sea corridor.

The shadow war has increasingly come to light since October 7, 2023, when Hamas and other militants attacked Israel. They killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took some 250 hostages to Gaza. In response, Israel launched a devastating air and ground offensive against Hamas, and Netanyahu has vowed to keep fighting until all hostages are released. About a hundred people 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 officials. They make no distinction between civilians and fighters, but say more than half of the dead are women and children.