Israel launches wave of retaliatory airstrikes against its enemy Iran

Israel attacked Iran with a series of pre-dawn airstrikes on Saturday in what it said was a response to the barrage of ballistic missiles the Islamic Republic fired upon Israel earlier in the month.

The Israeli military said its aircraft targeted facilities that Iran used to make 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.

The Iranian army said four soldiers were killed in Israeli strikes. It is possible that the number of dead may be higher as Iran seeks to downplay the attacks.

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.

“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 in a video statement.

“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.”

The strikes 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.

It 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 offered no initial damage assessment.

Iran's Reaction

Iran’s state-run media acknowledged blasts that could be heard in Tehran and said some of the sounds came from air defence systems around the city.

But beyond a brief reference, Iranian state television for hours offered no other details 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 assault.

A Tehran resident told The Associated Press that at least seven explosions could be heard in the first wave of attacks, which rattled the surrounding area. The resident spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals.

As explosions sounded, people in Tehran could see what appeared to be tracer fire light up the sky. Other footage showed what appeared to be surface-to-air missiles being launched.

Iran closed the country’s airspace early on Saturday, and flight-tracking data analysed by AP showed commercial airlines had broadly left the skies over Iran, and across Iraq, Syria and Lebanon.

Iran's move to quickly downplay the attack may offer an avenue for it not to respond, which could risk a further escalation.

Meanwhile, in seemingly unrelated violence, an attack on an Iranian police convoy on Saturday in the country's restive southern province of Sistan and Baluchestan killed at least 10 officers, authorities said.

Details remain scarce over the attack in Gohar Kuh, some 1,200 kilometres southeast of the Iranian capital, Tehran.

Initially, reports simply described an attack by “miscreants” without more information. But shortly after, Iranian state media said 10 officers had been killed.

US Reaction

The White House indicated that Israel’s strikes on Iran should end the direct exchange of fire between the two enemy countries, while warning Tehran of “consequences” should it respond.

A senior White House official said the administration believed the Israeli operation should “close out” the direct military exchange between Israel and Iran, and said other allies were in agreement.

United States President Joe Biden was updated throughout Israel's operation, the official said, while underscoring that the U.S. had no involvement in the attack.

The official, who briefed reporters on the condition of anonymity under ground rules set by the White House, said the Israeli operation “was extensive, it was targeted, it was precise.”

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

Austin reiterated that the U.S. was committed to its ally’s security and that Israel has a right to defend itself, though Washington was determined to prevent the conflict from expanding, the Pentagon press secretary said in a statement.

Israel and Iran have been bitter foes since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Israel considers Iran to be its greatest threat, citing its leaders’ calls for Israel’s destruction, their support for anti-Israel militant groups and the country’s nuclear programme.

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

Airstrikes on Syria

Meanwhile, Syrian state news agency SANA reported "barrages of missiles from the direction of the occupied Syrian Golan and Lebanese territories targeted some military sites in the southern and central regions" of Syria early on Saturday.

It said Syria's air defences shot some missiles down, with no information immediately available on casualties.

Iran has launched two ballistic missile attacks on Israel in recent months amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip that began with the Hamas attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.

That initial attack killed some 1,200 people and saw 250 others taken hostage back to the seaside enclave.

In the time since, more than 42,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, according to Hamas-led local health officials.