What we know about Israeli strikes as Iran warns 'will defend itself'

What we know about Israeli strikes as Iran warns 'will defend itself'
By Ramin KHANIZADEH
Tehran (AFP) Oct 27, 2024

Iran warned on Saturday it would defend itself after Israeli air strikes killed at least four soldiers and further stoked fears of a full-scale war in the Middle East.

Israel warned Iran would "pay a heavy price" if it responded to the strikes, and the United States, Germany and Britain demanded Tehran not escalate the conflict further.

US President Joe Biden said he hoped "this is the end" after the pre-dawn Israeli strikes, noting that "it looks like they didn't hit anything other than military targets".

Biden had urged Israel to spare nuclear and oil facilities in its retaliatory strikes and the International Atomic Energy Agency confirmed that no nuclear sites were hit.

The European Union called for all parties to exercise utmost restraint to avoid an "uncontrollable escalation".

Other countries, including many of Iran's neighbours, condemned Israel's strikes and some, such as Russia, urged both sides to show restraint and avoid what Moscow dubbed a "catastrophic scenario".

Iran insisted it had the "right and the duty" to defend itself, while its Lebanese ally Hezbollah said it had already launched rocket salvos targeting five residential areas in northern Israel.

The Israeli army said 80 projectiles were fired across the border on Saturday.

Hezbollah later issued evacuation warnings for more than a dozen named locations in Israel, while the Israeli army made similar warnings for two neighbourhoods in southern Beirut.

Lebanon's official National News Agency reported early Sunday that Israel had carried out a fresh raid in Beirut's southern suburbs.

- 'Limited damage' -

Confirming its own strikes after explosions and anti-aircraft fire echoed around Tehran, the Israeli military said it had hit Iranian missile factories and military facilities in several provinces.

The "retaliatory strike has been completed and the mission was fulfilled", and Israeli aircraft "returned safely", a military spokesman said.

Iran confirmed Israel had targeted military sites around the capital and in other provinces, saying the raids caused "limited damage" but killed four soldiers.

Iran's armed forces general staff said only radar systems were damaged in the strikes and held back from any threat of immediate retaliation.

"While reserving its legal and legitimate right to respond at the appropriate moment, Iran is prioritising the establishment of a lasting ceasefire in Gaza and Lebanon," it said.

Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi held telephone talks with his Egyptian, Qatari and Syrian counterparts.

Qatar's Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani, a key mediator in Gaza truce efforts, voiced "deep concern over the serious repercussions that may result from this escalation," his ministry said.

- Direct attack -

Israel had vowed to retaliate after October 1, when Iran fired around 200 missiles in only the second ever direct attack against its arch-foe. Most of those missiles were intercepted but one person was killed.

The Israeli retaliation drew condemnation from Iraq, Pakistan, Syria and Saudi Arabia, which warned against further escalation. Jordan said Israeli jets had not used its airspace.

Turkey was one of the most outspoken critics, calling for an end to "terror created by Israel".

Israel is already engaged in combat on two fronts.

Since last month, it has been fighting a war against Hezbollah in Lebanon, including strikes that have killed the group's senior leadership and ground incursions seeking to destroy missile sites.

And, for more than a year since Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack, Israel has been fighting a war in Gaza that has caused mass civilian casualties in the densely populated Palestinian territory.

The United Nations has warned the "darkest moment" of that conflict was unfolding, with Palestinians facing a dire humanitarian crisis and daily Israeli bombing.

- 'True ally' -

A defence official said there was "no US involvement" in the strikes on Iran, but afterwards Israeli President Isaac Herzog paid tribute to "our great friend the USA for being a true ally, and for the overt and covert cooperation". He did not elaborate.

US National Security Council spokesman Sean Savett said Israel's response was "an exercise in self-defence".

He urged Iran to "cease its attacks on Israel so that this cycle of fighting can end without further escalation".

The Israeli military has blamed "Iran and its proxies" in the region for "relentlessly attacking Israel since October 7", when Hamas attacked Israel, triggering the Gaza war.

That attack resulted in the deaths of 1,206 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.

Dozens of hostages seized on that day are still held by militants in Gaza.

Israel's retaliatory bombardment and ground war in Gaza has killed 42,924 people, the majority civilians, according to figures from the Hamas-run territory's health ministry which the United Nations considers reliable.

In late September, Israel turned its focus to Lebanon, hitting Hezbollah targets and leaders and then sending in ground troops.

Israel says the aim is to make the north of its country safe for tens of thousands of displaced civilians to return.

At least 1,615 people have been killed in Lebanon since September 23, according to an AFP tally of Lebanese health ministry figures.

In April, in its first-ever direct assault against Israeli territory, Iran launched more than 300 drones and missiles.

Tehran said the barrage was retaliation for a strike on Iran's consular annexe in Damascus that killed commanders of its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Explosions later in April shook Iran's Isfahan province in what US officials, cited by American media, said was Israeli retaliation.

Iran said its October 1 missile attack on Israel was retaliation for an Israeli air raid that killed Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah, as well as the assassination in Tehran of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh.

On Friday, Gaza's health ministry accused Israeli forces of storming the last functioning hospital in the territory's north in a raid it said left two children dead.

The Israeli military says it is seeking to destroy operational capabilities Hamas is trying to rebuild in the north.

What we know about the Israeli strikes on Iran
Tehran (AFP) Oct 26, 2024 - Iran said Israeli air strikes targeting its military sites killed two soldiers on Saturday, after Israel said its warplanes carried out raids in retaliation for a missile barrage.

Here's what we know:

- What happened? -

The Israeli army said it conducted "precise strikes on military targets in Iran" on Saturday.

Explosions were heard in Tehran from around 2:15 am, AFP journalists in the Iranian capital said.

Iranian state television said the blasts were caused by the "activation of the air defence system" in response to an Israeli attack.

The Israeli military said it simultaneously struck missile manufacturing facilities, surface-to-air missile arrays and other "aerial capabilities".

It said later that the air attack had "concluded" its response to Iran's October 1 missile attack, saying its warplanes had returned safely and the mission was "fulfilled".

Iran's air force confirmed strikes on military bases in Tehran, Khuzestan and Ilam provinces that "caused limited damage".

The army said two soldiers were killed, while the country's civil aviation authority announced the resumption of flights after a brief suspension.

The foreign ministry said Iran had the "right and the duty to defend itself", citing the UN Charter.

State media in Syria said Israel also launched air strikes on its territory from the occupied Golan Heights and Lebanon

Iran and Syria are allies in the so-called "axis of resistance" that also includes Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza.

Hezbollah said it had fired rockets at a northern Israel intelligence base and drones at an airbase in the south of the country. The Israeli military said that around 80 projectiles were fired.

- Why did Israel attack? -

The Israeli military said it had launched the strikes "in response to months of continuous attacks" from the Islamic republic.

"The regime in Iran and its proxies in the region have been relentlessly attacking Israel since October 7th -- on seven fronts -- including direct attacks from Iranian soil," it said.

Israel had vowed revenge against Tehran for the October 1 missile attack.

Defence Minister Yoav Gallant had said Israel's retaliation would be "deadly, precise and surprising".

Iran launched around 200 ballistic missiles at Israel in retaliation for the killing of Tehran-backed leaders belonging to Hamas and Hezbollah, and an Iranian Revolutionary Guard general.

It was Tehran's second-ever direct assault on Israeli territory, following an April attack in retaliation for a deadly strike on Iran's consular annex in Damascus.

Israel has been fighting Iran-backed Hamas in the Gaza Strip since the Palestinian militant group's October 7, 2023 attack which resulted in the deaths of 1,206 people in Israel, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.

The Lebanon-based Hezbollah group, also backed by Tehran, has fired missiles at Israel in solidarity with Hamas since the Hamas attack which triggered Israel's massive military assault in Gaza.

- World reaction? -

The United States and Britain called for "de-escalation" after the Israeli strikes on Iran, while Muslim countries blamed Israel for exacerbating the conflict.

White House National Security Council spokesman Sean Savett said the "targeted strikes on military targets" were "an exercise of self-defence", stressing the United States did not take part.

"It is our aim to accelerate diplomacy and de-escalate tensions in the Middle East region," he said.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer called for "all sides to show restraint" and Germany warned Tehran against "massive escalating reactions".

Russia urged both sides to halt the violence with foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, warning of an "explosive escalation".

Turkey called for an end to what it called "Israeli terror"

Saudi Arabia condemned Israel and warned against any further expansion of the conflict in the Middle East.

Syria expressed its "solidarity" with Iran, saying it supported its right to defend itself, while Iraq denounced global inaction against what it called Israel's "aggressive policies".

Qatar, a mediator trying to end the Gaza war, expressed its "deep concern about the serious repercussions that may result from this escalation" by Israel.

Oman, which has long played a mediating role between Iran and Western countries, said Israel's attack on Iran "fuels the cycle of violence and undermines efforts" to de-escalate.