Srinagar- Israel launched a pre-dawn attack on various targets in Iran Saturday, apparently in retaliation for the barrage of ballistic missile strikes by the Islamic Republic earlier this month. The strikes marked the first time Israel’s military has openly attacked Iran.
Iran however said its air defences successfully countered the attack but four soldiers were killed and some locations suffered “limited damage”. Explosions could be heard over Tehran skies until sunrise. Iran’s military said the strikes targeted military bases in Ilam, Khuzestan and Tehran provinces.
Following the airstrikes, Iran’s Foreign Ministry said it had a right to self-defense, and “considers itself entitled and obligated to defend against foreign acts of aggression.” There was no official statement by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard (IRGC).
The strikes risk pushing the archenemies closer to all-out war at a time of spiraling violence across the Middle East, where Iranian allied groups— including Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon and Ansarralh in Yemen— are already at war with Israel.
Israel’s retaliatory attack on Iran on Saturday morning marked the start of a new and more dangerous phase in the two countries’ yearslong conflict, but it appeared, at least for now, to have stopped short of prompting an all-out war, analysts said.
The attack was the first time that Israel has publicly acknowledged conducting a military operation inside Iran, after years of maintaining a strategic silence about its assassinations and acts of sabotage on Iranian soil. It was also one of only a handful of attacks by a foreign air force in Iran since its war with Iraq in the 1980s.
Although it was a significant moment, Iran did not immediately set a time frame for a retaliation.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said his country has no limits when it comes to defending its interests, its territorial integrity and its people.
An earlier statement from the Foreign Ministry said that while Iran was “obliged to defend itself,” it was aware of its “responsibilities for regional peace and security,” avoiding the kind of bombastic language that characterized Iran’s initial responses to previous Israeli attacks.
That eased fears that an uncontrollable conflict was about to break out, even if the prospect of such a clash has edged ever closer.
U.S. President Joe Biden told reporters Israel gave him a heads-up before the strikes and said it looked like “they didn’t hit anything but military targets.” He said he had just finished a call with intelligence officials.
“I hope this is the end,” he said.
Two regional officials briefed by Iran told Reuters that several high-level meetings were held in Tehran to determine the scope of Iran’s response. One official said the damage was “very minimal” but added that several Revolutionary Guards bases in and around Tehran were also hit.
Iranian news sites aired footage of passengers at Tehran’s Mehrabad Airport, seemingly meant to show there was little impact.
Israel’s military, signalling it did not expect an immediate Iranian response, said there was no change to public safety restrictions across the country.
After the strikes, the streets in Iran’s capital were calm and children went to school and shops opened. There were long lines at the gas stations — a regular occurrence in Tehran when military violence flares as people stock up on fuel.
What Route Did Israeli Planes Take
Israel’s military said scores of jets completed three waves of strikes before dawn against missile factories and other sites near Tehran and in western Iran. Arab states situated between Israel and Iran have been particularly worried that use of their airspace could prompt retaliation against them.
Jordanian television quoted a source in the country’s armed forces as saying no military planes had been allowed through its airspace. A Saudi official also said that Saudi airspace had not been used for the strike.
A regional intelligence source said Israeli jets had flown across southern Syria, emitting sonic booms near the Jordanian border, and then across Iraq.
Arab, US Reaction
Saudi Arabia, which has mended fences with Iran after years of regional rivalry, and had been edging towards better ties with Israel before the war in Gaza, condemned the attack as a violation of Iranian sovereignty and international law.
The United States warned against further retaliation, and Britain and Germany said Iran should not respond. “All acts of escalation are condemnable and must stop,” the spokesman for the U.N. secretary-general said.
Saudi Arabia was one of multiple countries in the region condemning the strike, calling it a violation of Iran’s “sovereignty and a violation of international laws and norms.”
Both Hezbollah and Hamas condemned Israel’s attack, with Hezbollah saying it would not affect Tehran’s support for Lebanese and Palestinians fighting Israel.
Attack a Showoff
Israel’s opposition leader, Yair Lapid, criticized the decision to avoid “strategic and economic targets,” saying on X that “we could and should have exacted a much heavier price from Iran.”
Israeli media outlets have cast doubt on the effectiveness of the Israeli attack on Iran, describing it as a largely symbolic move that failed to achieve any significant strategic goals. Reports from Kan and other sources highlighted a growing sense of dissatisfaction within Israel regarding the operation’s limited impact.
Arab Affairs correspondent Roy Kays suggested that if he were in [Sayyed Ali] Khamenei’s position, he would get back to sleep and assess the situation regarding the attack on Iran the following morning.
The recent attack on Iran was largely a showoff that failed to achieve any strategic objectives, as per Israeli media.
Furthermore, media reports suggested that the limited response to Iran was politically motivated, designed to reassure Prime Minister Netanyahu’s supporters that action had been taken.
Analyst Rami Yitzhar, once a senior officer in the Israeli military police, believed that the attack on Iran, which he described as “minuscule and weak,” was a political trick by Netanyahu to show his supporters that he had done something against Tehran.
Commenting on the “explosive” statement of the Israeli army spokesperson, Daniel Hagari, about the attack, Yitzhar said it was “to some extent full of elements of false self-glorification, but his (Hagari’s) body language proves that he understands that it was just a show” and that “the sole purpose of this action was political: to show Netanyahu’s voters that we did something, and that is all.”
Meanwhile, Israeli media reported that former Mossad Intelligence Division chief Brigadier General (Res.) Amnon Sofrin warned that Iran possesses the capability to launch a highly potent operation against Israel.
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