What we know about the Israeli attack on Iran

Israel has carried out what it described as “precise and targeted” airstrikes on Iran in retaliation for… barrage of rocket attacks that Tehran launched against Israel earlier this month.

It is the latest in a series of exchanges between the two countries that have stoked fears of an all-out regional war for months.

But while Iran says Saturday’s attacks on military sites killed four soldiers, early indications suggest the strikes were more limited than feared.

Here’s what we know.

How did the attacks proceed?

Around 2:15 a.m. local time (10:45 p.m. GMT on Friday), Iranian media reported explosions in and around the capital Tehran.

Video uploaded to social media and verified by the BBC showed projectiles in the air above the city, while residents in some areas reported hearing loud bangs.

Shortly afterwards, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed that it was carrying out ‘precise’ strikes on ‘military targets’ in Iran.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant monitored the operation from the IDF command and control center in Tel Aviv.

Just after 6 a.m. (0300 GMT), the IDF said the attacks had ended.

The White House described the strikes as an “exercise of self-defense.” A senior administration official said the US had worked with Israel to encourage a “targeted and proportionate” response.

What was the scale of the attacks?

The extent of the attacks – and the damage caused – remains unclear at this stage.

The IDF said it hit about 20 targets, including missile production facilities, surface-to-air missiles and other military sites.

The Iranian military confirmed that two soldiers had been killed “while fighting with projectiles.”

Iranian authorities said locations in Tehran, Khuzestan and Ilam provinces were targeted. The country’s air defense said it had “successfully intercepted” the attacks, but that “some areas sustained limited damage.”

BBC Verify found damage to a Defense Ministry base east of Tehran, and to an air defense base in the south.

A senior US government official said the strikes did not damage Iran’s oil infrastructure or nuclear facilities, as President Joe Biden had done urged Israel not to strike.

Syrian state media also reported attacks on military sites in central and southern Syria, although Israel has not confirmed the country is under attack.

Why did Israel attack Iran?

Iran is the main supporter of a range of groups in the Middle East – often described as proxy groups – that are hostile to Israel, including Hamas and Hezbollah, with which Israel is currently at war.

In April, Iran launched its first direct attack on Israel, using about 300 missiles and drones, in retaliation for an Israeli airstrike. attack on an Iranian embassy complex in Syria, killing several top commanders of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

Israel responded with a “limited” attack on a missile defense system in Iran’s Isfahan region, to which Iran declined to respond.

Later, in July, Israel killed a top Hezbollah commander in an airstrike on Beirut. The next day, Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh was killed in an explosion in Tehran. Iran blamed Israel, although Israel made no comment.

End of September, Israel assassinated Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and Brigadier General Abbas Nilforoushan, a senior Iranian official, in Beirut.

On October 1, Iran launched 200 ballistic missiles at Israel, saying it was in response to the deaths of Haniyeh, Nasrallah and Nilforoushan.

What happens next?

Early signs indicate that this attack was not as serious as some had feared.

The American magazine Axios reported that before the attacks, Israel sent Iran a message revealing certain details about the attacks and warning Tehran not to respond.

That could be a sign that Israel does not want to escalate the situation further – at least for now.

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

A senior US official said: “This should be the end of this direct firefight between Israel and Iran.”

Iran’s Foreign Ministry said it had “the right and duty to defend itself” and described the attack as a violation of international law.

But it also said Tehran recognizes its “responsibilities towards regional peace and security.”

What is the situation in Iran?

Images published by Iranian state media show life continuing relatively normally – with busy streets, people exercising in parks and fruit and vegetable markets open as usual.

Iran closed its airspace for a few hours overnight but later reopened with several commercial flights operating throughout the country.

But there are signs that the Iranian government is keen to downplay the impact of the attacks.

The IRGC has announced that it is a criminal offense to send “images or news” related to the attack to media it deems “affiliated with Israel” or “hostile.” Iran usually calls the Western media hostile.

Iranian media reported today that Tehran’s Public Prosecution filed charges against an unnamed website for “reporting on issues contrary to national security.”

How has the world responded?

US National Security Council spokesman Sean Savett said Israel’s response “avoided populated areas and focused exclusively on military targets, unlike Iran’s attack on Israel, which targeted Israel’s most populous city.”

But Washington’s goal, he added, is to “accelerate diplomacy and de-escalate tensions in the Middle East.”

British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said Israel has the right to defend itself, but urged all parties to “show restraint” and called on Iran not to respond.

Saudi Arabia condemned the attack and warned against any action that “threatens the security and stability of the region.”

Egypt’s Foreign Ministry echoed these concerns, saying it was “deeply concerned” about the strikes.

Hamas described them as “a blatant violation of Iranian sovereignty and an escalation aimed at the security of the region and the safety of its people.”

Additional reporting by Ghoncheh Habibiazad, BBC Monitoring

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