Key points
- Israel said it had completed an operation in which it launched attacks on military targets in Iran.
- Iran has said it has “the right” to defend itself but also “recognizes its responsibilities towards regional peace.”
- World leaders have called for restraint to prevent further escalation.
Iran has said it would defend itself after Israeli airstrikes killed at least four soldiers and further stoked fears of a full-scale war in the Middle East.
The Israeli military confirmed its own attacks after explosions and anti-aircraft fire echoed around Tehran on Saturday. .
The “retaliatory strike is complete and the mission accomplished” and the Israeli aircraft have “returned safely,” a military spokesman said.
Iran confirmed that Israel had attacked military sites around the capital and in other provinces, saying the raids caused “limited damage” but killed four soldiers.
Loud explosions were heard in Tehran and surrounding cities. Source: AAP, EPA / Abedin Taherkenareh
The General Staff of Iran’s Armed Forces said only radar systems were damaged in the attacks and there would be no threat of immediate retaliation.
Israel warned that Iran would “pay a high price” if it responded to the attacks, and the United States, Germany and Britain demanded that Tehran not further escalate the conflict.
Iran has ‘the right’ to defend itself, but recognizes peace obligations
Iran’s Foreign Ministry said the country has “the right and obligation” to defend itself, but added that it “recognizes its responsibilities in regional peace and security.”
“While Iran reserves its legal and legitimate right to respond at the appropriate time, it is prioritizing the establishment of a lasting ceasefire in Gaza and Lebanon,” the Armed Forces General Staff said.
Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi held telephone conversations with his Egyptian, Qatari and Syrian counterparts.
Qatar’s Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani, a key mediator of the ceasefire in Gaza, expressed “deep concern about the serious consequences that could result from this escalation,” his ministry said.
How world leaders responded to Israel’s retaliatory attack
US President Joe Biden said he hoped “this is the end” after the Israeli pre-dawn attacks, noting that “it doesn’t seem like they hit anything other than military targets.”
Biden had urged Israel to spare nuclear and oil facilities during its retaliatory strikes, and the International Atomic Energy Agency confirmed no nuclear sites were hit.
A defense official said there was “no American involvement” in the attacks on Iran, but afterwards Israeli President Isaac Herzog paid tribute to “our great friend the US for being a true ally, and for the open and covert cooperation.” He didn’t work it out.
US National Security Council spokesman Sean Savett said Israel’s response was “an exercise in self-defense”. He urged Iran to “cease its attacks on Israel so that this cycle of fighting can end without further escalation.”
Iran confirmed that Israel had attacked military sites around the capital and other provinces, saying the raids caused “limited damage” but killed four soldiers. Source: AAP, EPA / Abedin Taherkenareh
The European Union called on all parties to exercise utmost restraint to avoid an “uncontrollable escalation”.
Other countries, including many of Iran’s neighbors, condemned Israel’s attacks and some, such as Russia, urged both sides to show restraint and avoid what Moscow called a “catastrophic scenario.”
The Israeli retaliation drew condemnation from Iraq, Pakistan, Syria and Saudi Arabia, which warned of further escalation. Jordan said Israeli aircraft had not used its airspace. Türkiye was one of the most vocal critics, calling for an end to the “terror created by Israel.”
Lebanese ally Hezbollah said it had already launched salvos of rockets at five residential areas in northern Israel. The Israeli military said 80 projectiles were fired across the border on Saturday.
Hezbollah later issued evacuation warnings for more than a dozen named locations in Israel, in a new move that mirrors warnings the Israeli military has long issued for areas in Gaza and Lebanon where it plans to operate.
Tensions between Iran and Israel have risen rapidly since the Palestinian group Hamas’s October 7 attack on southern Israel, which killed 1,200 people and took about 250 hostage.
The Israeli military has blamed “Iran and its allies” in the region for “mercilessly attacking Israel since October 7.”
For more than a year, the Israeli bombardment and ground war in Gaza have caused massive civilian casualties in the densely populated Palestinian area.
More than 42,900 people have been killed in Gaza since October 7, according to figures from the enclave’s health ministry, which are considered reliable by the United Nations.
The campaign has also displaced much of Gaza’s population and created a serious humanitarian crisis.
In late September, Israel turned its attention to Lebanon, attacking Hezbollah targets and leaders and then sending in ground troops. At least 1,615 people have been killed in Lebanon since September 23, according to figures from the Lebanese Ministry of Health.
Fears of an escalation have increased since October 1, when Iran killing one person in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
Iran said its rocket attack on Israel on October 1 was in retaliation for an Israeli airstrike as well as the .
In April, Iran launched more than 300 drones and missiles in its first-ever direct attack on Israeli territory. Tehran said the barrage was in retaliation for an attack on the Iranian consular annex in Damascus that killed Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps commanders.
Explosions later in April in what US officials, quoted by US media, said was Israeli retaliation.
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