Israel escalates wars in the Middle East with attacks in Iran

Saturday marked the first time the Israeli military has openly attacked Iran, which has not faced a sustained barrage from a foreign enemy since the war with Iraq in the 1980s.

Israel’s hours-long attack ended just before dawn in Tehran, with the Israeli military saying it targeted “missile production facilities used to produce the missiles Iran has fired at the State of Israel over the past year.” It also said it had hit surface-to-air missile sites and “additional Iranian air capabilities.”

Israel has not offered an initial estimate of damage.

Initially, nuclear facilities and oil installations were all seen as possible targets for the Israeli response to the October 1 Iranian attack, but by mid-October the Biden administration won. guarantees from Israel that such targets would not be hit, which would mean a more serious escalation.

“The regime in Iran and its allies in the region have been ruthlessly attacking Israel since October 7, … including direct attacks from Iranian soil,” Israeli military spokesman Admiral Daniel Hagari said in a pre-recorded video statement early Saturday. “Like every other sovereign country in the world, the State of Israel has the right and obligation to respond.”

Iran’s military said the attacks targeted military bases in Ilam, Khuzestan and Tehran provinces and caused “limited damage,” without elaborating.

The United States warned of further retaliation and indicated that the overnight strikes should put an end to the direct firefight between Israel and Iran.

The Israeli military said explosions were heard over northern Israel following its activities in southern Lebanon, but that there was “no indication of a security incident.”

Iranian state media acknowledged the explosions heard in Tehran and said some sounds came from air defense systems around the city.

But other than a brief reference, Iranian state television offered no other details for hours and even began showing what it described as live footage of men loading trucks at a vegetable market in Tehran in an apparent attempt to downplay the attack.

A Tehran resident told The Associated Press that at least seven explosions were heard during the first wave of attacks, shaking up the area. The resident spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals.

As explosions rang out, people in Tehran could see what appeared to be tracer fire lighting up the sky. Other images showed what appeared to be surface-to-air missiles being launched.

Iran closed the country’s airspace early Saturday, and flight data analyzed by AP showed commercial airlines had largely left airspace over Iran, and in Iraq, Syria and Lebanon.

The Iranian move to quickly downplay the attack could provide an opportunity not to respond, which could risk further escalation.

“The Israeli army has fulfilled its mission,” Hagari said in a later video. “If the regime in Iran makes the mistake of starting a new round of escalation, we will be obliged to respond.”

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

Iran launched at least 180 rockets at Israel on the evening of October 1, causing Israelis to rush into shelters but causing only minimal damage and some injuries. Iran said it was barrage retaliation for attacks in recent months killing leaders of Hezbollah, Hamas and the Iranian army. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu immediately said Iran “has made a big mistake.”

Before the Iranian attack in October, Israel had landed a number of them devastating blows against Hezbollah, which has been firing rockets into Israel almost daily for more than a year – since the deadly Hamas attack on Israel that led to the war in Gaza.

In September, dozens were killed and thousands injured pagers and walkie-talkies used by Hezbollah exploded in two days of attacks attributed to Israel. A massive Israeli airstrike the following week outside Beirut Hassan Nasrallah, the long-time leader of Hezbollah, was assassinatedand several of its top commanders.

Israel then increased pressure on Hezbollah by launching an attack ground invasion in southern Lebanon. More than a million Lebanese are displacedand the death toll has risen sharply from airstrikes in and around Beirut.

Israel has said it will continue to attack Hezbollah until it is safe for Israeli citizens driven from their homes near the border with Lebanon to return. Hezbollah has pledged to continue firing rockets into Israel until there is a ceasefire in Gaza.

The White House indicated that Israel’s strikes on Iran should end the direct exchange of fire between the two hostile countries, while warning Tehran of the “consequences” if it responded.

A senior White House official said the administration believed the Israeli operation should “shut down” direct military exchanges between Israel and Iran, and said other allies agreed.

US President Joe Biden was kept briefed during the Israeli operation, the official said, underscoring that the US was not involved in the attack.

The official, who briefed reporters on the condition of anonymity under White House ground rules, said the Israeli operation was “extensive, targeted and precise.”

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke with his Israeli counterpart, Yoav Gallant, about Israeli strikes on military targets in Iran, Major General Pat Ryder said late Friday.

Austin reiterated that the US is committed to the security of its ally and that Israel has the right to defend itself, although Washington was determined to prevent the conflict from spreading, the Pentagon press secretary said in a statement.

When Hamas and others militants attacked Israel on October 7, 2023they killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took some 250 hostages to Gaza. In response, Israel launched a devastating air and ground offensive against Hamas, and Netanyahu has vowed to keep fighting until all hostages are released. There are about a hundred left and a third are probably already dead.

More than 42,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, according to local health officials. They make no distinction between civilians and fighters, but say more than half of the dead are women and children.

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 the country’s nuclear program.

During their years-long shadow war, a suspected Israeli assassination campaign has killed top Iranian scientists and hacked or sabotaged Iranian nuclear facilities, all in mysterious attacks blamed on Israel.

Meanwhile, Iran has been blamed for a series of attacks on shipping in the Middle East in recent years, which later evolved into the attacks by the Yemeni Houthi rebels on shipping via the Red Sea Corridor.

Since the Hamas attack on October 7, the shadow war has increasingly come to light.

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Associated Press writers Amir Vahdat in Tehran, Iran; Tia Goldenberg in Tel Aviv, Israel; Abby Sewell in Beirut; and Lolita C. Baldor, Farnoush Amiri and Zeke Miller in Washington; and Aamer Madhani in Wilmington, Delaware, contributed to this report.