DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Israel hit Iran with a series of airstrikes early Saturday, saying it was targeting military sites in retaliation for the barrage of ballistic missiles the Islamic Republic fired at Israel earlier this month.

The explosions could be heard in the Iranian capital, Tehran, although the Islamic Republic insisted they caused only “limited damage”.

The attack risks pushing the enemies closer to all-out war at a time of spiraling violence in the Middle East, where Iran-backed militant groups – including Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon – are already at war with Israel.

Saturday marked the first time the Israeli military openly attacked Iran, which has not faced sustained bombing from a foreign enemy since the 1980s war with Iraq.

The hours-long Israeli attack ended just before sunrise in Tehran, with the Israeli military saying it had targeted “rocket production facilities used to produce the rockets that Iran has fired at the State of Israel over the past year.” It also said it hit surface-to-air missile sites and “additional Iranian air capabilities.”

Israel has not provided any initial damage assessment.

Initially, all nuclear facilities and oil facilities were seen as possible targets for Israel’s response to Iran’s Oct. 1 attack, but in mid-October, the Biden administration won assurances from Israel that it would not hit such targets, which would be more serious. escalation.

“The regime in Iran and its proxies in the region have relentlessly attacked Israel since October 7, … including direct attacks from Iranian soil,” Israeli military spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said in a pre-recorded video statement early Saturday. “Like any other sovereign country in the world, the State of Israel has the right and duty to respond.”

Iran’s military said the strikes targeted military bases in Ilam, Khuzestan and Tehran provinces and caused “limited damage”, without elaborating.

The United States has warned against further retaliation, indicating that the overnight strikes should end direct fire between Israel and Iran.

The Israeli military said explosions were heard in northern Israel following its activity in southern Lebanon, but “there is no indication of a security incident”.

Iran downplays Israel’s attack

Iran’s state media acknowledged the explosions that could be heard in Tehran and said some of the sounds came from air defense systems around the city.

But beyond a brief reference, Iranian state television for hours offered no further details and even began showing what it described as live footage of men loading trucks at a Tehran vegetable market in a apparent attempt to downplay the attack.

A resident of Tehran told The Associated Press that at least seven explosions could be heard in the first wave of attacks, which shook the surrounding area. The resident spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals.

As the explosions rang out, people in Tehran could see what appeared to be tracer fire lighting up the sky. Other images showed what appeared to be surface-to-air missiles being launched.

Iran closed the country’s airspace early Saturday, and flight tracking data reviewed by the AP showed commercial airlines had largely left the skies over Iran and over Iraq, Syria and Lebanon.

Iran’s move to quickly downplay the attack may provide an avenue to not respond, which could risk further escalation.

“The Israel Defense Forces have accomplished their mission,” Hagari said in a later video. “If the regime in Iran makes the mistake of starting a new round of escalation, we will be forced to respond.”

Israel’s attack was a response to Iranian attacks

Iran fired a barrage of missiles and drones at Israel in April after two Iranian generals were killed in an apparent Israeli airstrike in Syria on an Iranian diplomatic post. The rockets and drones caused minimal damage, and Israel – under pressure from Western countries to show restraint – responded with a limited strike that it has not openly claimed.

Iran fired at least 180 rockets into Israel on the evening of October 1, sending Israelis scrambling for bomb shelters but causing only minimal damage and a few injuries. Iran said the dam was in retaliation for attacks in recent months that have killed leaders of Hezbollah, Hamas and the Iranian military. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu immediately declared that Iran had “made a big mistake”.

Before Iran’s attack in October, Israel launched a series of devastating strikes against Hezbollah, which has fired rockets into Israel almost daily for over a year — ever since Hamas’ deadly attack on Israel that sparked the Gaza war.

Dozens were killed and thousands injured in September when pagers and walkie-talkies used by Hezbollah exploded in two days of attacks attributed to Israel. A massive Israeli airstrike the following week outside Beirut killed Hezbollah’s longtime leader Hassan Nasrallah and several of his top commanders.

Israel then stepped up pressure on Hezbollah by launching a ground invasion in southern Lebanon. More than a million Lebanese were displaced and the death toll rose sharply as airstrikes pounded in and around Beirut.

Israel has said it will continue to strike Hezbollah until Israeli citizens displaced from their homes near the Lebanese border are safe to return. Hezbollah has vowed to continue firing rockets into Israel until a cease-fire in Gaza.

US warns against retaliation

The White House has indicated that Israel’s attacks on Iran should end direct fire between the two hostile countries, while warning Tehran of “consequences” if it retaliates.

A senior White House official said the administration believed the Israeli operation should “shut down” direct military exchanges between Israel and Iran, and said other allies agreed.

US President Joe Biden was updated on Israel’s operation, the official said, while stressing that the US had no involvement in the attack.

The official, who spoke to reporters on condition of anonymity under White House ground rules, said the Israeli operation “was extensive, it was targeted, it was precise.”

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke with his Israeli counterpart, Yoav Gallant, about Israel’s attacks on military targets in Iran, Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said Friday evening.

Austin reiterated that the US is committed to the security of its ally and that Israel has the right to defend itself, although Washington is determined to prevent the conflict from escalating, the Pentagon’s press secretary said in a statement.

Israel’s strike is the latest in a series of Middle East wars

When Hamas and other militants attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, they killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took about 250 hostages in Gaza. In response, Israel launched a devastating air and ground offensive against Hamas, and Netanyahu vowed to keep fighting until all the hostages were freed. About 100 remain and about a third are believed to have died.

More than 42,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, according to local health officials, who do not distinguish between civilians and combatants, but say more than half of the dead are women and children.

Israel and Iran have been bitter enemies since the Islamic Revolution of 1979. Israel views Iran as its greatest threat, citing its leaders’ calls for Israel’s destruction, their support for anti-Israel militant groups, and the country’s nuclear program.

During their years-long shadow war, an alleged Israeli assassination campaign killed top Iranian nuclear scientists and Iranian nuclear facilities were hacked or sabotaged, all in mysterious attacks blamed on Israel.

Meanwhile, Iran has been blamed for a series of attacks on shipping in the Middle East in recent years, which later turned into attacks by Yemen’s Houthi rebels on shipping through the Red Sea corridor.

Since the October 7 attack by Hamas, the shadow war has increasingly come into the light.

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Associated Press writers Amir Vahdat in Tehran, Iran; Tia Goldenberg from Tel Aviv, Israel; Abby Sewell in Beirut; and Lolita C. Baldor, Farnoush Amiri and Zeke Miller in Washington; and Aamer Madhani in Wilmington, Delaware contributed to this report.