Israel‘s military said its strikes hit Iran‘s missile factories, missile complexes and other systems in several regions.
“According to intelligence, Israeli Air Force aircraft have hit missile production facilities that produced the missiles fired by Iran at the State of Israel over the past year,” the Israeli military said in a statement. “At the same time, Israeli forces attacked surface-to-air missile systems and other Iranian air capabilities. The retaliatory strike is complete and mission accomplished.”
“The Israel Defense Forces have accomplished their mission,” Israeli army spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari later said in a video message. “If the Iranian regime makes a mistake and starts a new round of escalation, we will have a responsibility to respond.”
Iran confirmed that the Israeli strike targeted military facilities in the capital Tehran and other parts of the country, but said it caused “limited damage”.
The Iranian military said the Israeli strikes targeted army bases in Ilam, Khuzestan and Tehran provinces.
According to the statement of the Iranian army, two Iranian soldiers were killed in Israeli strikes.
On the other hand, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Iran said that “Iran has the right and duty to protect itself against acts of foreign aggression”.
Initially, nuclear facilities and oil production facilities were considered as possible targets of Israel’s response to Iran’s October 1 attack, but in mid-October, the administration of US President Joe Biden received assurances from Israel that Israel would not carry out strikes on such targets, which would further escalate the conflict.
The United States warned against further retaliatory steps, saying the overnight strikes should end direct fire between Israel and Iran.
Israel’s military said the strikes were carried out because the Iranian government and its allies “have continuously attacked Israel” since the Palestinian militant group Hamas attacked Israel on October 7 last year.
These attacks on Israel took place on seven fronts, including directly from Iran, the Israel Defense Forces said in a statement on the Telegram app.
Israel is at war in the Gaza Strip against Hamas and on the northern front against the Iranian-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.
“Like any other sovereign state in the world, the State of Israel has the right and duty to respond,” the Israel Defense Forces said in a statement to Telegram.
Israel’s strikes on Iranian targets on Saturday are believed to be in response to Iran’s attack on Israel on October 1, when Iran fired about 200 ballistic missiles at Israel.
Iranian state television reported several explosions around Tehran and explosions were also reported in central Tehran, and Iran’s Civil Aviation Organization canceled flights on all routes until further notice. Later, the Civil Aviation Organization of Iran allowed the resumption of flights from 9 am.
Syrian state media reported that Syrian air defenses intercepted “hostile targets” near Damascus and that the Israeli army attacked several military targets in southern and central Syria.
In response to Israeli airstrikes on Iran, its neighbor Iraq suspended all air traffic on Saturday until further notice.
The US White House administration said that the “targeted” Israeli “strikes on military targets” in Iran were an “exercise of self-defense” following Iran’s ballistic missile attack on Israel on October 1.
The US said it was not involved in these Israeli strikes, but the Pentagon and the White House were informed about them in advance.