Israel’s first open attack on Iran targets missile sites

TEL AVIV, Israel — Israel has attacked military targets in Iran with pre-dawn air raids Saturday in retaliation for the barrage of ballistic missiles the Islamic Republic fired on Israel earlier this month. It was the first time that the Israeli army openly attacked Iran.

The Israeli military said its planes targeted facilities Iran used to fire the missiles at Israel, as well as surface-to-air missile sites.

Crucially, there was no indication that Iran’s oil or nuclear sites had been hit. Iran insisted the attacks caused only “limited damage,” and Iranian state media downplayed them. Taken together, the moves suggested, at least for now, that both countries are trying to avoid a more serious escalation.

Still, there is a risk that the attacks will bring the archenemies closer to all-out war at a time of the increasing violence in the Middle Eastwhere militant groups backed by Iran – 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 considers itself “the right and duty to defend itself against foreign acts of aggression. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Iran has “no limits” in defending its interests.

But late Saturday, the Iranian military issued a carefully worded statement suggesting that a ceasefire in Israel’s ground offensives in Gaza and Lebanon would trump any possible retaliatory strike.

Four people were killed, all by military air defense, according to Iran’s state news agency IRNA. The Iranian military said the attacks targeted military bases in Ilam, Khuzestan and Tehran provinces. But Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard remained silent.

US President Joe Biden told reporters that Israel had given him a warning ahead of the strikes, saying it appeared “they had only hit military targets.” His government won guarantees from Israel in mid-October that it would not affect nuclear and oil installations.

“I hope this is the end,” Biden said.

Iran has not faced a sustained barrage from a foreign enemy since the war with Iraq in the 1980s. Explosions could be heard in Tehran until dawn.

It is also widely believed that Israel is behind a limited air raid in April near a major air base in Iran that hit the radar system of a Russian-made air defense battery. Iran had that before fired a wave of missiles and drones in Israel, causing minimal damageafter two Iranian generals were killed in an apparent Israeli airstrike on an Iranian diplomatic post in Syria.

On October 1, Iran launched at least 180 missiles at Israel in retaliation devastating blows Israel landed against Hezbollah. They caused minimal damage and some injuries. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Iran “has made a big mistake.”

“Iran has attacked Israel twice, including in locations that endangered civilians, and has paid the price,” Israeli military spokesman Admiral Daniel Hagari said. He added: “If the regime in Iran makes the mistake of starting a new round of escalation, we will be obliged to respond.”

Footage released by the Israeli military shows members preparing to depart for the strikes in American-made F-15 and F-16 fighter jets.

The Iranian military statement describes Israeli warplanes firing lightweight missiles at a range of 100 kilometers (62 miles) from the Iranian border. The missiles hit air defense radar stations, the military said, some of which were already under repair.

However, Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guards – which oversees its vast arsenal of ballistic missiles – remained silent, raising questions about whether anything had been hit at the bases. The Guard is one of the main centers of power in the Iranian theocracy, as the regular army has been sidelined since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Israel’s attack did not take out any highly visible or symbolic facilities that could prompt a significant response from Iran, said Yoel Guzansky, a researcher at the Tel Aviv Institute for National Security Studies who previously worked for Israel’s National Security Council.

It also gives Israel room for escalation if necessary, and targeting air defense systems weakens Iran’s ability to defend against future attacks, he said, adding that if Iranian retaliation occurs, it must be limited.

Israel has once again shown that its military precision and capabilities are superior to Iran’s, said Sanam Vakil, director of the Middle East and North Africa program at London-based think tank Chatham House.

“By targeting military sites and missile facilities over nuclear and energy infrastructure, Israel is also sending the message that it is not seeking further escalation for the time being,” Vakil said. “This is a sign that the diplomacy and backchannel efforts to mitigate the attack were successful. .”