Israel attacks Iran in series of pre-dawn airstrikes targeting military infrastructure

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Israel attacked Iran pinch a series of pre-dawn airstrikes Saturday successful what it said was a consequence to nan barrage of ballistic missiles nan Islamic Republic fired upon Israel earlier successful nan month.

The Israeli subject said its craft targeted accommodation that Iran utilized to make nan missiles fired astatine Israel arsenic good arsenic surface-to-air rocket sites. There was nary contiguous denotation that lipid aliases rocket sites were deed — strikes that would person marked a overmuch much superior escalation — and Israel offered nary contiguous harm assessment.

Explosions could beryllium heard successful nan Iranian capital, Tehran, though nan Islamic Republic insisted they caused only “limited damage” and Iranian state-run media downplayed nan attacks. Iran’s service said 2 of its troops had been killed successful nan attack, Iran’s Al-Alam tv reported.

Still, nan strikes consequence pushing nan archenemies person to all-out warfare astatine a clip of spiraling unit crossed nan Middle East, wherever militant groups backed by Iran — including Hamas successful Gaza and Hezbollah successful Lebanon — are already at warfare pinch Israel.

The first unfastened Israeli onslaught connected Iran

“Iran attacked Israel twice, including successful locations that endangered civilians, and has paid nan value for it,” said Israeli subject spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari successful a video statement.

“We are focused connected our warfare objectives successful nan Gaza Strip and Lebanon. It is Iran that continues to push for a wider location escalation.”

Photos and video released by Israel showed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, wearing a achromatic casual jacket, and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant gathering pinch subject advisers and others successful a convention room astatine a subject bid and power halfway successful nan Kirya subject guidelines successful Tel Aviv.

The strikes filled nan aerial for hours until sunrise successful Iran. They marked nan first clip Israel’s subject has openly attacked Iran, which hasn’t faced a sustained barrage of occurrence from a overseas force since its 1980s warfare pinch Iraq.

Israel is besides wide thought to person been down a limited airstrike successful April adjacent a awesome aerial guidelines successful Iran successful which nan radar strategy for a Russian-made aerial defense artillery was hit.

Saturday’s onslaught came arsenic portion of Israel’s “duty to respond” to attacks connected it from “Iran and its proxies successful nan region,” Hagari said.

“The Israel Defense Forces has fulfilled its mission,” Hagari said. “If nan authorities successful Iran were to make nan correction of opening a caller information of escalation, we will beryllium obligated to respond.”

Mixed reactions astatine location and abroad

Israel’s guidance leader, Yair Lapid, criticized nan determination to debar “strategic and economical targets” successful nan attack.

“We could and should person exacted a overmuch heavier value from Iran,” Lapid wrote successful a station connected X.

The United States warned against further retaliation, indicating that nan overnight strikes should extremity nan nonstop speech of occurrence betwixt Israel and Iran.

Regional heavyweight Saudi Arabia condemned nan strike, calling it “a usurpation of (Iran’s) sovereignty and a usurpation of world laws and norms.”

The kingdom’s overseas ministry said it rejected nan escalation successful nan region and “the description of nan conflict that threatens nan information and stableness of nan countries and group of nan region.”

Nuclear accommodation and lipid installations were each seen arsenic imaginable targets for Israel’s consequence to Iran’s Oct. 1 attack, earlier U.S. President Joe Biden’s management won assurances from Israel successful mid-October that it would not deed specified targets, which would beryllium a much terrible escalation.

Iran’s subject said nan strikes targeted subject bases successful Ilam, Khuzestan and Tehran provinces, without elaborating.

It closed its airspace during nan onslaught but Iran’s Civil Aviation Organization said flights were resuming astatine 9 a.m., Iranian authorities news agency IRNA reported.

Iran’s state-run media acknowledged blasts that could beryllium heard successful Tehran and said immoderate of nan sounds came from aerial defense systems astir nan city. But beyond a little reference, Iranian authorities tv for hours offered nary different details.

Iran whitethorn beryllium trying to bring an extremity to nan escalating tit-for-tat attacks

Iran’s move to quickly downplay nan onslaught whitethorn connection an avenue for it not to respond, averting further escalation.

Iran fired a activity of missiles and drones astatine Israel successful April aft 2 Iranian generals were killed successful an evident Israeli airstrike successful Syria connected an Iranian negotiated post. The missiles and drones caused minimal damage, and Israel — nether unit from Western countries to show restraint — responded pinch a constricted onslaught it didn’t openly claim.

In Lebanon, dozens were killed and thousands wounded successful September erstwhile pagers and walkie-talkies utilized by Hezbollah exploded successful 2 days of attacks attributed to Israel. A monolithic Israel airstrike nan pursuing week extracurricular Beirut killed Hezbollah’s longtime leader, Hassan Nasrallah, and respective of his apical commanders.

On Oct. 1, Iran launched astatine slightest 180 missiles into Israel successful retaliation, sending Israelis scrambling into explosive shelters but causing only minimal harm and a fewer injuries.

Netanyahu instantly said Iran had “made a large mistake.”

Israel past ratcheted up nan unit connected Hezbollah by launching a ground penetration into confederate Lebanon. More than a cardinal Lebanese group person been displaced, and nan decease toll has risen sharply arsenic airstrikes deed successful and astir Beirut.

Antipathy betwixt nan 2 countries goes backmost decades

Israel and Iran person been bitter foes since nan 1979 Islamic Revolution. Israel considers Iran to beryllium its top threat, citing its leaders’ calls for Israel’s destruction, their support for anti-Israel militant groups and the country’s atomic program.

During their yearslong protector war, a suspected Israeli assassination run has killed apical Iranian atomic scientists and Iranian atomic installations person been hacked aliases sabotaged, each successful mysterious attacks blamed connected Israel.

Meanwhile, Iran has been blamed for a bid of attacks connected shipping successful nan Middle East successful caller years, which later grew into nan attacks by Yemen’s Houthi rebels connected shipping done nan Red Sea corridor.

The protector warfare has progressively moved into nan ray since Oct. 7, 2023, erstwhile Hamas and different militants attacked Israel. They killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took immoderate 250 hostages into Gaza. In response, Israel launched a devastating aerial and crushed offensive against Hamas, and Netanyahu has vowed to support fighting until each of nan hostages are freed. Some 100 remain, of whom astir a 3rd are believed to beryllium dead.

More than 42,000 Palestinians person been killed successful Gaza, according to section wellness officials, who don’t differentiate betwixt civilians and combatants but opportunity much than half of nan dormant person been women and children.

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