Israel hits back at Iran with strikes on military targets

Israel said it struck military sites in Iran early on Saturday (local time) in retaliation for Tehran's attacks on Israel earlier this month, the latest step in the escalating conflict between the heavily armed rivals.

Iranian media reported at least two waves of multiple explosions over more than two hours in the capital and at nearby military bases, playing down the attacks in initial reports and highlighting Iran's air defenses.

Before dawn, Israel's public broadcaster said three waves of strikes had been completed and that the operation was over.

Tensions between arch rivals Israel and Iran have escalated since Hamas, the Iran-backed Palestinian militant group based in Gaza, attacked Israel on 7 October, 2023. Hamas has been supported by Lebanon-based Hezbollah militants, also backed by Iran.

The Middle East has been on edge in anticipation of Israeli retaliation for a ballistic-missile barrage carried out by Iran on 1 October, in which around 200 missiles were fired at Israel, Iran's second direct attack on Israel in six months.

Those strikes, which Iran said targeted Israeli military facilities, came after Israel killed the top leadership of Iranian ally Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Hezbollah militants joined the fight against Israel in support of Hamas, the Palestinian militant group based in Gaza, also aligned with Iran, that attacked Israel on 7 October 2023.

"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.

Israel has the right and duty to respond to attacks from Tehran and its proxies, which have included missile strikes launched from Iranian soil, the military said.

The scope of the attack was not immediately clear, but an Israeli public broadcaster said dozens of fighter jets were striking military targets.

Targets did not include energy infrastructure or nuclear facilities, a US official said.

ABC said the attack was ongoing and expected to be a one-night affair.

US 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 has said Israel should consider alternatives to attacking Iran's oil fields.

Iran downplays strikes

Iranian state TV quoted a military spokesman, who said the explosions heard in Tehran were linked "to air defense systems reacting to efforts by the Zionist regime (Israel) to attack three locations outside the city of Tehran."

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.

Anti-aircraft fire was being heard in central Teharan, state news agency IRNA reported.

The semi-official Iranian Fars news agency said several military bases in the west and southwest of Tehran had been targeted by Israel.

Iranian state media reported strong explosions that began around 2am local time, but played down the attack in initial reports, saying life continued as normal.

The Tasnim News Agency said Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps bases that were attacked were not damaged.

State TV showed footage of Tehran's Imam Khomeini international airport with arriving passengers getting off their flights.

Israel also targeted some military sites in Syria's central and southern parts with airstrikes early on Saturday, Syrian state news agency SANA reported.

Syrian air defense forces intercepted missiles launched by Israel "from the direction of the Israeli-occupied Syrian Golan Heights and the Lebanese territories" and shot down some of them, SANA added.

Israel has not confirmed striking Syria.

Iraq suspended flights in all of its airports until further notice, its state news agency said.

Iranian authorities have repeatedly warned Israel against launching an attack, saying any strike on Iran would be met with stronger retaliation.

US informed ahead of strikes

Israel said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant were closely following the operation at the military's command and control center in Tel Aviv.

Gallant spoke to US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin shortly after Israel's response began, a US defense official said.

The United States was notified by Israel ahead of its strikes on targets in Iran but was not involved in the operation, a US official told Reuters.

"We understand that Israel is conducting targeted strikes against military targets in Iran as an exercise of self-defense and in response to Iran's ballistic missile attack against Israel on October 1st," said White House National Security Council spokesperson Sean Savett.

Fears that Iran and the US would be drawn into a regional war have risen with Israel's intensifying assault on Hezbollah since last month, including airstrikes on Beirut and a ground operation, as well as its year-old conflict in the Gaza Strip.

Even as it sought to convince Israel to calibrate its strikes on Iran to avoid escalation, the United States moved to reassure its closest ally in the Middle East that it would aid in its defense should Tehran decide to stage a counter-attack.

This included Biden's decision to move the US military's THAAD anti-missile defenses to Israel, along with about 100 US soldiers to operate them.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Wednesday that Israel's retaliation should not lead to greater escalation.

Israel's defense minister said this week that enemies would "pay a heavy price" for trying to harm Israel.

- Reuters