By JON GAMBRELL, ADAM SCHRECK and TIA GOLDENBERG

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — 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 and called on the UN Security Council to condemn Israel for the attacks.

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 the powerful paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, which oversees Iran’s vast arsenal of ballistic missiles, has been silent, raising questions about whether anything has been hit at its bases.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, in a statement posted to X, offered condolences to the families of the dead and warned against future attacks.

“Iran’s enemies should know that these brave men stand fearlessly in defense of their land and will respond to any nonsense with tact and intelligence,” he wrote.

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. The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency said Iran’s nuclear facilities were not affected.

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

Israel’s first open attack on Iran

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”.

“Should the regime in Iran make the mistake of starting a new round of escalation, we will be forced to respond,” said Israeli military spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari.

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.

Iran’s UN mission has accused the US of complicity in the attack, saying the US controls Iraqi airspace.

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.

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told Yoav Gallant, Israel’s defense minister, that “Iran should not make the mistake of retaliating against Israel’s attacks, which should mark the end of this exchange,” according to Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder, Pentagon press secretary. . The pair spoke on Friday and Saturday.

On the campaign trail this weekend, Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump briefly addressed the airstrikes.

“Israel is attacking — we’ve got a war going on and she’s out partying,” Trump said at a rally in Michigan on Friday, as Harris held an event with Beyoncé in Texas.

Meanwhile, Harris on Saturday called for “de-escalation and not an escalation of activities in that region.”

“I feel very strongly, we as the United States feel very strongly that Iran needs to stop what it is doing in terms of the threat it poses to the region, and we will always defend Israel against any attack by Iran in this way,” she. told reporters in Michigan.

Sanam Vakil, director of the Middle East and North Africa program at the Chatham House think tank in London, said Israel had sent a signal by what it attacked.

“By targeting military sites and missile facilities on nuclear and energy infrastructure, Israel is also sending a message that it is not looking for further escalation for now,” Vakil said.

After the strikes, the streets of the Iranian capital were calm, with schools and shops open. There were long queues at petrol stations – a common occurrence when military violence breaks out. But some residents seemed concerned and avoided conversations with an Associated Press reporter.

Mixed reactions at home and abroad

Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid criticized the decision to avoid “strategic and economic targets”, telling X that “we could and should have demanded a much higher price from Iran”.

The United States warned against further retaliation, and Britain and Germany said Iran should not retaliate. “All acts of escalation are reprehensible and must stop,” the UN secretary-general’s spokesman said.

Saudi Arabia was one of several countries in the region to condemn the attack, calling it a violation of “Iran’s sovereignty and a violation of international laws and norms.” Hezbollah and Hamas condemned the Israeli attack.

Regional tensions have increased.

In Lebanon, dozens were killed and thousands injured in September when pagers and walkie-talkies used by Hezbollah exploded in attacks attributed to Israel. A massive Israeli airstrike the following week outside Beirut killed the old leader of Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah.

Israel launched a ground invasion in southern Lebanon. More than a million The Lebanese were displacedand the death toll rose sharply as airstrikes struck in and around Beirut.

Hezbollah warned 25 communities in northern Israel to evacuate on Saturday, calling them “legitimate military targets” as Israel attacked the militant group there.

Enemies for decades

Israel and Iran have been bitter enemies since the Islamic Revolution of 1979. Israel views Iran as the biggest threat, citing its leaders’ calls for the destruction of Israel, 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. Meanwhile, Iran has been blamed for attacks on shipping in the Middle East.

The shadow war has increasingly come into the light since October 7, 2023, when Hamas and other militants attacked Israel. 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. About 100 remain, about a third believed to be dead.

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

“Those who were not killed by the bombing are starving. This is life,” said a displaced woman from northern Gaza, Madallah Abu Zaid.

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Gambrell reported from Dubai, United Arab Emirates and Schreck from Jerusalem. Associated Press writers Amir Vahdat in Tehran, Iran; Abby Sewell in Beirut; Lolita C. Baldor, Farnoush Amiri and Zeke Miller in Washington; David Rising in Bangkok; and Aamer Madhani in Wilmington, Delaware contributed to this report.

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Originally published: October 26, 2024 at 3:54 am