TEL AVIV, Israel — Israel attacked military targets in Iran with air strikes before dawn Saturday in retaliation for ballistic missile barrage The Islamic Republic fired on Israel earlier this month. It was the first time the Israeli military openly attacked Iran.

The Israeli military said its aircraft targeted facilities Iran used to produce the missiles fired at Israel, as well as surface-to-air missile sites.

Crucially, there was no indication that Iran’s oil or nuclear sites had been hit. Iran insisted that the strikes caused only “limited damage” and Iranian state media played it down. Taken together, the moves suggested at least for now that both countries are trying to avoid a more serious escalation.

Still, the strikes risk pushing enemies closer to all-out war at a time of spiral of violence in the Middle Eastwhere Iranian-backed militant groups—including Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon — I already am at war with Israel.

Following the airstrikes, Iran’s Foreign Ministry issued a statement saying it “considers itself justified and obliged to defend itself against foreign acts of aggression. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Iran has “no limits” in defending its interests.

But late on Saturday, Iran’s military issued a carefully worded statement suggesting that any ceasefire in Israel’s ground offensives in Gaza and Lebanon would outweigh any possible retaliatory strike.

The state-run IRNA news agency said four people were killed, all by military air defenses. Iran’s military said the strikes targeted military bases in Ilam, Khuzestan and Tehran provinces. But Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard has remained silent.

US President Joe Biden told reporters that Israel had warned him before the strikes and said “they hit nothing but military targets”. His administration won insurance from Israel in mid-October that it will not hit nuclear facilities and oil facilities.

“I hope this is the end of it,” Biden said.

Iran has not faced sustained bombing from a foreign enemy since its 1980s war with Iraq. Explosions were heard in Tehran until sunrise.

Israel is also believed to be behind a limited air attack in April near a major air base in Iran that hit the radar system for a Russian-made air defense battery. Iran had earlier fired a barrage of missiles and drones to Israel, provoking minimal damageafter two Iranian generals were killed in an apparent Israeli airstrike on an Iranian diplomatic post in Syria.

On October 1, Iran fired at least 180 missiles into Israel in retaliation for devastating blows Israel has landed against Hezbollah. They caused minimal damage and a few injuries. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Iran had “made a big mistake”.

“Iran attacked Israel twice, including in locations that endangered civilians, and paid the price for it,” said Israeli military spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari. He added: “Should the regime in Iran make the mistake of starting a new round of escalation, we will be forced to respond.”

Footage released by the Israeli military showed members preparing to depart for strikes with US-made F-15 and F-16 warplanes.

The Iranian military statement described Israel’s warplanes as firing light missiles at a distance of 100 kilometers (62 miles) from the border with Iran. The missiles hit air defense radar stations, the military said, some of which were already under repair.

However, Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard – which oversees its vast arsenal of ballistic missiles – has remained silent, raising questions about whether any of its bases were hit. The Guard is one of the main centers of power in Iran’s theocracy, as the regular army has been sidelined since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Israel’s attack did not take out highly visible or symbolic facilities that could provoke a significant response from Iran, said Yoel Guzansky, a researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv who previously worked for Israel’s National Security Council.

It also gives Israel room to escalate if necessary, and targeting air defense systems weakens Iran’s capabilities to defend against future attacks, he said, adding that if there is Iranian retaliation, it should be limited.

Israel has again shown its precision and military capabilities are superior to Iran’s, said Sanam Vakil, director of the Middle East and North Africa program at the Chatham House think tank in London.

“By targeting military sites and missile facilities over nuclear and energy infrastructure, Israel is also sending a message that it does not want further escalation for now,” Vakil said. “This is a sign that diplomacy and backroom efforts to moderate the attack have been successful. .”