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By Parisa Hafezi and Emily Rose
DUBAI/JERUSALEM (Reuters) -Israel struck military sites in Iran early on Saturday, 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 Oct. 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 Oct. 7, 2023. Hamas has been supported by Lebanon-based Hezbollah militants, also backed by Iran.
Fears that Iran and the U.S. would be drawn into a regional war have risen with Israel’s intensifying assault on Hezbollah since last month, including airstrikes on the Lebanese capital Beirut and a ground operation, as well as 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 Defense Forces is conducting precise strikes on military targets in Iran,” Israel’s military said in a statement announcing the attack.
‘OBLIGATED TO RESPOND’
The military said later it had completed its “targeted” attacks in Iran, striking truck missile manufacturing facilities and surface-to-air missile arrays, adding its planes had safely returned home.
“If the regime in Iran were to make the mistake of beginning a new round of escalation, we will be obligated to respond,” the military said.
Targets did not include energy infrastructure or Iran’s nuclear facilities, a U.S. official said.
U.S. 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,” the semi-official Tasnim news agency said on Saturday, citing sources.
A senior Biden official said Israel’s “targeted and proportional strikes” should be the end of direct exchange of fire between the two countries, but the U.S. was fully prepared to once again defend Israel if Iran should choose to respond.
U.S. INFORMED AHEAD OF STRIKES
Videos carried by Iranian media showed air defences continuously firing at apparently incoming projectiles in central Tehran, without saying which sites were coming under attack.
Tasnim reported Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps bases that were attacked were not damaged and said Iran was resuming flights from 9 a.m. (0530 GMT) after a suspension during Israel’s attack. Neighbouring Iraq was also resuming flights, its state news agency said.
Israel targeted some military sites in Syria’s central and southern parts with airstrikes early on Saturday, Syrian state news agency SANA reported. Israel has not confirmed striking Syria.
Israel said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and other security officials closely followed the operation at the military’s command and control centre in Tel Aviv.
Gallant spoke to U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin shortly after Israel’s strikes began. Austin emphasized the enhanced force posture of the United States to defend U.S. personnel, Israel and its partners across the region, the Pentagon said.
Israel notified the United States before striking, but Washington was not involved in the operation, a U.S. official told Reuters.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, in the Middle East for another attempt to broker a peace deal, said on Wednesday Israel’s retaliation should not lead to greater escalation.
Saudi Arabia condemned the attack on Iran as a “violation of its sovereignty” and international laws. It urged all parties to exercise maximum restraint and called on the international community to take action towards de-escalation and ending conflicts in the region.
Even as it sought to convince Israel to calibrate its strikes, the United States moved to reassure its closest Middle East ally that it would aid in its defence should Tehran stage a counterattack.
This included Biden’s decision to move the U.S. military’s THAAD anti-missile defences to Israel, along with about 100 U.S. soldiers to operate them.