TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Israel has attacked military targets in Iran with pre-dawn air raids Saturday in retaliation for the barrage of ballistic missiles the Islamic Republic fired on Israel earlier this month. The attacks marked the first time the Israeli military openly attacked Iran.
After the airstrikes, Iran’s Foreign Ministry said it has the right to self-defense and “considers itself the right and duty to defend itself against foreign acts of aggression.” Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Iran has “no limits” in defending its interests.
The Israeli military said it 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 nuclear sites had been hit, which would have meant a much more serious escalation.
Four people were killed, all by the country’s military air defenses, according to Iran’s state news agency IRNA. It was not stated where they were stationed. Iran’s military said the attacks targeted military bases in Ilam, Khuzestan and Tehran provinces, without elaborating. The Islamic Republic said the attacks caused “limited damage.”
The attacks threaten to bring the archenemies closer to all-out war at a time of… the increasing violence in the Middle Eastwhere militant groups backed by Iran – including Hamas in Gaza And Hezbollah in Lebanon – are already at war with Israel.
US President Joe Biden told reporters that Israel had given him a warning ahead of the strikes, saying it appeared “they had only hit military targets.” He said he had just completed a phone call with intelligence officials.
“I hope this is the end,” he said.
Israel’s first open attack on Iran
Iran has not faced a sustained barrage from a foreign enemy since the war with Iraq in the 1980s. Explosions could be heard in Tehran until dawn.
On October 1, Iran launched at least 180 missiles at Israel in retaliation devastating blows Israel landed against Hezbollah. They caused minimal damage and some injuries. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Iran “has made a big mistake.”
It is also widely believed that Israel is behind a limited air raid in April near a major air base in Iran that hit the radar system of a Russian-made air defense battery. Iran had fired a wave of missiles and drones in Israel in April, which means minimal damageafter two Iranian generals were killed in an apparent Israeli airstrike on an Iranian diplomatic post in Syria.
“Iran has attacked Israel twice, including in locations that endangered civilians, and has paid the price,” Israeli military spokesman Admiral Daniel Hagari said. He added: “If the regime in Iran makes the mistake of starting a new round of escalation, we will be obliged to respond.”
Footage released by the Israeli military shows members preparing to depart for the strikes in American-made F-15 and F-16 fighter jets.
Israel’s attack did not take out any highly visible or symbolic facilities that could prompt a significant response from Iran, said Yoel Guzansky, a researcher at the Tel Aviv Institute for National Security Studies who previously worked for Israel’s National Security Council.
It also gives Israel room for escalation if necessary, and targeting air defense systems weakens Iran’s ability to defend against future attacks, he said, adding that if Iranian retaliation occurs, it must be limited.
Israel has once again shown that its military precision and capabilities are superior to Iran’s, said Sanam Vakil, director of the Middle East and North Africa program at London-based think tank Chatham House.
“By targeting military sites and missile facilities over nuclear and energy infrastructure, Israel is also signaling that it is not seeking further escalation for the time being,” Vakil said. “This is a sign that the diplomacy and backchannel efforts to moderate the strike were successful.”
The Biden administration won guarantees from Israel in mid-October that it would not affect nuclear and oil installations.
After the strikes, the streets in the Iranian capital were calm, children went to school and shops opened. There were long lines at gas stations – a regular occurrence in Tehran when military violence flares as people stock up on fuel. But some Tehran residents appeared concerned and avoided talking to an Associated Press reporter.
Mixed reactions at home and abroad
Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid criticized the decision to avoid “strategic and economic goals,” saying on X that “we could and should have demanded a much higher price from Iran.”
The United States warned of further retaliation, and Britain and Germany said Iran should not respond. “All acts of escalation are reprehensible and must stop,” said the spokesperson for the UN Secretary General.
Saudi Arabia was among several countries in the region to condemn the strike, calling it a violation of Iran’s “sovereignty and a violation of international laws and norms.”
Both Hezbollah and Hamas condemned Israel’s attack, with Hezbollah saying it would not affect Tehran’s support for the Lebanese and Palestinians fighting Israel.
Regional tensions have increased dramatically in recent weeks.
Dozens of people were killed and thousands injured in Lebanon in September pagers and walkie-talkies used by Hezbollah exploded in attacks attributed to Israel. A massive Israeli airstrike the following week outside Beirut Hassan Nasrallah, the long-time leader of Hezbollah, was assassinated.
Israel launched one ground invasion in southern Lebanon. More than a million Lebanese are displacedand the death toll has risen sharply from airstrikes in and around Beirut.
Enemies for decades
Israel and Iran have been bitter enemies since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Israel views Iran as its greatest threat, citing its leaders’ calls for the destruction of Israel, 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 Iranian nuclear facilities have been hacked or sabotaged.
Meanwhile, Iran has been blamed for attacks on shipping in the Middle East, which later evolved into the attacks by the Yemeni Houthi rebels on shipping via the Red Sea Corridor.
The shadow war has increasingly come to light since October 7, 2023, when Hamas and others 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 remain, about a third of whom are believed to be dead.
More than 42,000 Palestinians have been killed in largely destroyed Gaza, according to local health officials. They make no distinction between civilians and fighters, but say more than half were women and children.
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Gambrell reported from Dubai, United Arab Emirates and Schreck from Jerusalem. Associated Press writers Amir Vahdat in Tehran, Iran; Abby Sewell in Beirut; Lolita C. Baldor, Farnoush Amiri and Zeke Miller in Washington; David rises in Bangkok; and Aamer Madhani in Wilmington, Delaware, contributed to this report.
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