Strikes were ‘extensive’ and ‘precise’, says senior US official
Jonathan Yerushalmy
The US did not participate in the strikes across Iran, but worked with the Israeli government to encourage a low-risk attack with no civilian harm, a senior US administration official said late on Friday, adding that it appears that is what was achieved.
The official described the strikes as “extensive”, “precise” and against military targets across Iran.
“The effect was a proportionate self-defence response. The effect is to deter future attacks and to degrade Iran’s abilities to launch future attacks.”
The official stressed that the US considered the operation to be an “end to the exchange of fire between Israel and Iran”.
This should be the end of the direct military exchange between Israel and Iran. We had a direct exchange in April and that was closed off and now we’ve had this direct exchange again.
Key events
Summary
If you’re just joining us, here’s a recap of today’s developments as Israel launched an air attack on military sites in Iran. It’s approaching 10.30am in Tehran and 10am in Tel Aviv.
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Israel struck military sites in Iran early on Saturday, saying it was retaliating against Tehran’s strikes on Israel early this month. Iranian media reported multiple explosions over several hours in Tehran, the capital, and at nearby military bases, starting shortly after 2am local time (2230 GMT on Friday).
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At least seven explosions were reported over Tehran and nearby Karaj as well as the eastern city of Mashhad just after 2.30am as Israeli jets struck military targets in the country.
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The Israeli military said it had completed its “targeted” air attacks on Saturday morning, hitting missile manufacturing sites and aerial defences in several areas inside Iran, and that its planes had safely returned home. Israel’s public broadcaster said three waves of strikes had been completed. The Israeli military said after its airstrikes: “If the regime in Iran were to make the mistake of beginning a new round of escalation, we will be obligated to respond.”
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Iran said its air defence system successfully countered Israel’s attacks on military targets in the provinces of Tehran, Khuzestan and Ilam with “limited damage” to some locations. A semi-official Iranian news agency vowed a “proportional reaction” to Israeli moves against Tehran.
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In the US, a senior Biden official said Israel’s “targeted and proportional strikes” should be the end of direct exchange of fire between the two countries, but that the US was fully prepared to once again defend Israel if Iran should choose to respond. A US official said earlier that Israel notified Washington before carrying out the strikes, which it said were “an exercise of self-defence”, and that the US had no involvement in the Israeli military operation.
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Iran briefly suspended all flights after the Israeli strikes. Its civil aviation authority later resumed flights from 9am (0530 GMT) on Saturday.
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Iranian media initially appeared to downplay the airstrikes, noting that Tehran’s airport was operating normally. State TV reported several strong explosions heard around the capital, while the state news agency, IRNA, said there had been no casualties. There was no immediate official comment about the source of explosions, which Iranian news outlets reported were under investigation. Air defence systems were activated around the country.
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The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) took the rare step of acknowledging the attack on Iran, in a confirmation in a statement that a decades-old shadow war between the enemy states had now firmly moved into the open. The IDF posted on X: “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.” Kan, the Israeli public broadcaster, said dozens of fighter jets were involved in the operation.
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The attacks were widely expected as a retaliation to a missile barrage launched by Iran on 1 October that saw an estimated 180 ballistic missiles fired towards Tel Aviv and military bases in an unprecedented direct altercation between the two regional enemy states.
UK calls for ‘all sides to show restraint’ after Israel attacks Iran
Eleni Courea
UK prime minister Keir Starmer, who is giving a press conference now, has urged Iran not to respond to the attack, saying the Middle East needs to “avoid further regional escalation”.
He said:
I am clear that Israel has the right to defend itself against Iranian aggression.
I’m equally clear that we need to avoid further regional escalation and urge all sides to show restraint. Iran should not respond.
We will continue to work with allies to deescalate the situation across the region.
Iran’s official IRNA news agency is reporting that the country’s air defence “intercepted and countered successfully” the Israeli airstrikes against some Iranian military centres, while saying they “caused limited damage”.
It quoted the Iranian air defence command’s public relations office as saying in a statement that Israel launched airstrikes against military centres in Tehran, the western province of Ilam and the south-western province of Khuzestan.
The news agency’s report said:
The statement also urged people to remain calm, maintain solidarity and rely only on news from state media. It called on the nation to ignore enemy media rumours.
Earlier, the report said, IRNA reported that Iran’s air defence system was activated when Israeli forces attacked positions in the country.
The defence system neutralised these efforts, successfully intercepting and countering the attacks, according to an air defence force public relations official.
We’ve just launched an explainer with the latest we know so far about Israel’s attack on Iranian military sites early today. Here it is:
Israel warned Iran ahead of strikes – report
Israel sent a message to Iran on Friday ahead of its retaliatory airstrikes warning the Iranians not to respond, Axios has reported, citing three sources.
The US news website said the Israeli message was an attempt to limit the ongoing exchange of attacks between Israel and Iran and prevent a wider escalation, according to the sources, who had knowledge of the issue.
The Israeli message was conveyed to the Iranians through several third parties, Axios reported the sources as saying.
“The Israelis made it clear to the Iranians in advance what they are going to attack in general and what they are not going to attack,” one source told the website.
Two other sources said Israel warned the Iranians not to respond to the attack and stressed that if Iran did retaliate, Israel would conduct another more significant attack, especially if Israeli civilians were killed or injured, the report said.
The office of the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, did not respond for a request for comment, the report said.
IDF spokesperson R Adm Daniel Hagari told reporters on Saturday that if Iran escalated in response to the Israeli strikes, Israel would be compelled to retaliate.
Saudi Arabia has condemned the military targeting of Iran as a “violation of its sovereignty” and international laws.
Reuters also reports that Saudi Arabia urged all parties to exercise maximum restraint and called on the international community to take action towards de-escalation and ending conflicts in the region.
More here on Iran resuming flights after a brief suspension following Israel’s strikes early today.
The Civil Aviation Organisation said flights would return to normal from 9am (0530 GMT) on Saturday, according to the official IRNA news agency, reports Agence France-Presse.
Here are some photos of Tehran this morning after the Israeli strikes on military targets overnight.
Iran to resume flights – report
Iran is to resume flights after Israel’s airstrikes, Agence France-Presse is reporting the country’s aviation authority as saying.
The US has urged Iran to stop attacking Israel to break the cycle of violence after Israel’s airstrikes on Iranian military targets in retaliation for a missile barrage.
The US National Security Council spokesman, Sean Savett, said on Saturday: “We urge Iran to cease its attacks on Israel so that this cycle of fighting can end without further escalation.”
Stressing that the US did not participate in the operation, he also said:
It is our aim to accelerate diplomacy and de-escalate tensions in the Middle East region.
A senior administration official said President Joe Biden and his national security team had worked with the “Israelis over recent weeks to encourage Israel to conduct a response that was targeted and proportional with low risk of civilian harm”.
“And that appears to have been precisely what transpired this evening,” the official told reporters.
– Agence France-Presse, Reuters
The Israeli military says its strikes targeting Iran’s air defences on Saturday have given it more freedom to operate in skies over Iran.
“Now, the state of Israel has wider freedom of action in the air over Iran as well,” Agence France-Presse quoted military spokesman R Adm Daniel Hagari as saying in a televised briefing.