Israel strikes Iran in retaliatory attack

Israel launched “precise strikes on military targets in Iran” in the early hours of Saturday, officials said.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said the strikes were in response to “months of continuous attacks” from Iran and its proxies in the region.

PREMIUM TIMES reported that Iran, on 1 October, launched nearly 200 ballistic missiles at Israel. That strike targeted military bases in Israel.

CNN reported that the retaliatory Israeli attack appears limited to military sites and not Iranian nuclear facilities or oil fields.

In a statement, the IDF said it completed its strikes and its “mission was fulfilled.” Its aircraft hit missile manufacturing facilities, as well as surface-to-air missile arrays, the IDF said.

Meanwhile Iran has downplayed Israel’s retaliatory offensive, saying it produced “limited damage” in certain areas, the country’s National Air Defence Headquarters said in a statement reported by NBC news.

“The country’s integrated air defense system successfully intercepted and countered this aggressive action, though limited damage has been reported in certain areas,” the defence agency said.

It acknowledged that Israel targeted military facilities in Tehran as well as in the provinces of Khuzestan and Ilam, calling it a “provocative attack.”

The statement further described Israel’s move as “adventurous” and defying warnings not to aim for Iranian homeland targets. But there was no mention of a possible response.

“The scope of this incident is currently under investigation,” the defence agency noted.

The strikes come amid Israel’s ongoing war against Hamas in neighbouring Gaza as well as its attack on Iran-backed Hezbollah fighters in Lebanon.

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The US said it was not involved in the attack on Iran but they was fully briefed about the strikes

A senior administration official told NBC that Saturday’s strikes “should be the end of the direct military exchange between Israel and Iran.”

“This should be the end of the direct military exchange between Israel and Iran,” the official said. “As far as we’re concerned that should close out the direct exchange between Israel and Iran.”

The official said Biden and his security team “worked with the Israelis over recent weeks to encourage Israel to conduct a response that was targeted and proportional with low risk of civilian harm and that is precisely what transpired this evening.”