TEL AVIV, Israel –

Israel attacked military targets in Iran with a series of pre-dawn airstrikes on Saturday in retaliation for the barrage of ballistic missiles the Islamic Republic fired at Israel earlier this month.

The Israeli military said its planes targeted facilities that Iran used to make the missiles fired at Israel as well as surface-to-air missile sites. There was no immediate indication that any oil or missile sites had been hit – strikes that would have marked a far more serious escalation – and Israel offered no immediate assessment of the damage.

Explosions could be heard in the Iranian capital, Tehran, although the Islamic Republic insisted they caused only “limited damage” and Iranian state media downplayed the attacks. The Iranian military said two of its soldiers were killed in the attack, Iranian Al-Alam television reported.

Still, the strikes risk pushing the archenemies closer to all-out war at a time of increasing violence in the Middle East, where Iranian-backed militant groups – including Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon – are already at war with Israel.

Following the airstrikes, Iran’s Foreign Ministry issued a statement saying it had the right to defend itself and that it “considers itself entitled and obliged to defend itself against foreign acts of aggression.”

The first open Israeli attack on Iran

“Iran attacked Israel twice, including in places endangering civilians, and paid the price,” Israeli military spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said.

“We are focused on our war objectives in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon. It is Iran that continues to push for broader regional escalation.

Photos and videos released by Israel showed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, dressed in a black casual jacket, and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant meeting with military advisers and others in a conference room at a training center. military command and control of the Kirya military base in Tel Aviv.

The strikes filled the air for hours until sunrise in Iran. It was the first time the Israeli military had openly attacked Iran, which has not faced a sustained barrage of fire from a foreign enemy since its war against Iraq in the 1980s.

It is also widely believed that Israel was behind a limited airstrike in April near a major air base in Iran, during which the radar system of a Russian-made air defense battery was touch.

Saturday’s attack was part of Israel’s “duty to respond” to attacks by “Iran and its proxies in the region,” Hagari said.

“The Israeli army has fulfilled its mission,” Hagari said. “If the Iranian regime made the mistake of starting a new series of escalations, we would be forced to react. »

The Israeli attack effectively sent a message to Iran that it would not remain silent, while not destroying highly visible or symbolic installations that could provoke a significant response from Iran, said Yoel Guzansky, a researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv who previously worked for the National Security Council of Israel.

At the same time, it also gives Israel room for further escalation if necessary, and targeting air defense systems weakens Iran’s capabilities to defend itself against future attacks, he said , adding that if there was any Iranian retaliation, he expected it to be limited.

“The Iranians are more likely to show restraint because of their interests, external pressure and the nature of the Israeli attack… which allows them to save face,” he said.

In the aftermath of the strikes, the streets of the Iranian capital were calm, children went to school and shops opened as usual, with the only sign of concern being long queues outside gas stations – a a regular occurrence in Tehran when military violence breaks out or during natural disasters, when people stock up on fuel.

Mixed reactions at home and abroad

Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid criticized the decision to avoid “strategic and economic targets” in the attack.

“We could and should have demanded a much higher price from Iran,” Lapid wrote on X.

The United States warned of further retaliation, saying the nightly strikes should end the direct exchange of fire between Israel and Iran, and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said “Iran will not should not answer.

“We must avoid further regional escalation and urge all parties to exercise restraint,” he said at a summit in Samoa.

Saudi Arabia was one of 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.”

The kingdom’s foreign ministry said it rejected escalation in the region and “the expansion of the conflict that threatens the security and stability of countries and people in the region.”

Hamas, backed by Iran, called the attack “an escalation aimed at the security of the region and that of its population.”

Nuclear facilities and oil facilities were all considered possible targets for Israel’s response to the October 1 Iranian attack, before the administration of US President Joe Biden obtained assurances from Israel to mid-October that it would not achieve such targets, which would constitute an even more serious escalation. .

The Iranian military said the strikes targeted military bases in Ilam, Khuzestan and Tehran provinces, without elaborating.

Iran closed its airspace during the attack, but the Civil Aviation Organization of Iran said flights were resuming at 9 a.m., Iran’s official IRNA news agency reported.

Iranian state media acknowledged that explosions could be heard in Tehran and said some noises came from air defense systems around the city. But beyond a brief reference, Iranian state television provided no further details for hours.

Iran could stop escalating attacks

Iran’s decision to quickly downplay the attack could allow it to sit back, thereby avoiding further escalation.

Iran fired a wave of missiles and drones at Israel in April after two Iranian generals were killed in an apparent Israeli airstrike in Syria on an Iranian diplomatic post. Missiles and drones caused minimal damage, and Israel – under pressure from Western countries to show restraint – responded with a limited strike that it did not openly claim responsibility for.

In Lebanon, dozens of people were killed and thousands injured in September when pagers and walkie-talkies used by Hezbollah exploded during two days of attacks blamed on Israel. A massive Israeli airstrike the following week outside Beirut killed longtime Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and several of his top commanders.

On October 1, Iran launched at least 180 missiles at Israel in retaliation, sending Israelis rushing into air raid shelters but causing only minimal damage and a few injuries.

Netanyahu immediately declared that Iran had “made a grave mistake.”

Israel then increased pressure on Hezbollah by launching a ground invasion into southern Lebanon. More than a million Lebanese have been displaced and the death toll has risen sharply as airstrikes hit Beirut and its surrounding areas.

Antipathy between the two countries dates back 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 country’s nuclear program.

During this years-long shadow war, an alleged Israeli assassination campaign killed prominent Iranian nuclear scientists and Iranian nuclear facilities were hacked or sabotaged, all in mysterious attacks blamed on Israel .

At the same time, Iran has been accused of a series of attacks on shipping in the Middle East in recent years, which then escalated into attacks by Yemen’s Houthi rebels on ships passing through the corridor. Red Sea.

The shadow war has increasingly come into the spotlight since October 7, 2023, when Hamas and other militants attacked Israel. They killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took some 250 hostages in Gaza. In response, Israel launched a devastating air and ground offensive against Hamas, and Netanyahu vowed to continue the fight until all hostages were freed. There are around a hundred left, around a third of whom are believed to be dead.

More than 42,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, according to local health authorities, who do not differentiate between civilians and combatants, but say that more than half of the dead are women and children.

Gambrell reported from Dubai and Schreck from Jerusalem. United Arab Emirates. Associated Press writers Amir Vahdat in Tehran, Iran; Abby Sewell in Beirut; Lolita C. Baldor, Farnoush Amiri and Zeke Miller in Washington; David Rising in Bangkok; and Aamer Madhani in Wilmington, Delaware, contributed to this report.