Did Israel Heed US Warnings About Iran Attacks?published at 03:37 BST

03:37 BST

Sebastian Usher
Middle East Regional Editor

Iranian state media acknowledged that there had been explosions in and around the capital, Tehran. But there is still no clarity on exactly what the targets were and whether they were successfully hit by Israel.

News sites close to the Revolutionary Guards said some military bases were targeted. But for now, Iranian media are downplaying the impact.

The true nature of what happened is likely to trickle out from the Iranian authorities. Israel may move faster to reveal the details of its attack, but that depends on whether or not it plans to carry out another wave.

The Pentagon gave a briefing that the US was informed in advance of Israel’s plans and that there was no US involvement in the operation. This is significant in Washington’s efforts to try to prevent the conflict between Israel and Iran from escalating into a confrontation that could move ever closer to all-out war. The US will also wait for the dust to settle to see if Israel’s targets have been limited to military targets or gone beyond that to include facilities linked to Iran’s nuclear program – which could trigger another major response from Tehran.

For now—based on the limited evidence that is available—Israel may have heeded Washington’s warnings and held back some of its more ambitious plans to inflict maximum pain on the Iranian authorities.