TEL AVIV, Israel — Israel attacked military targets in Iran with pre-dawn airstrikes on Saturday in retaliation for the Islamic Republic’s barrage of ballistic missiles 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 the foes 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 .

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 trump 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.

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 assurances from Israel in mid-October that it would not strike nuclear 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,” 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 airstrike in April near a major Iranian air base that hit the radar system for a Russian-made air defense battery. Iran earlier fired a barrage of missiles and drones at Israel, causing minimal damage, after two Iranian generals were killed in an apparent Israeli airstrike on an Iranian diplomatic post in Syria.

On October 1, Iran launched at least 180 missiles into Israel in retaliation for the devastating strikes Israel had 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.

“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 at this time,” said Sanam Vakil, director of the Middle East and North Africa program at the Chatham think tank in London. House.

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 worried 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 longtime Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah.

Israel launched 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.

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 considers Iran the biggest 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. 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 bombardment are starving. This is life,” said Madallah Abu Zaid, a displaced woman from northern Gaza.

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.