By JON GAMBRELL

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran’s military said early Saturday that Israeli attacks on the country targeted military bases in Ilam, Khuzestan and Tehran provinces, causing “limited damage.”

The Iranian armed forces’ statement was read aloud on state television, and no images of the described damage were shown. The Iranian military claimed that its air defenses limited the damage from the attacks, without providing additional evidence.

Israel said it carried out attacks targeting missile production facilities and other facilities in the country.

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THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Below is AP’s earlier story.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Israel launched a series of airstrikes early Saturday, saying it was targeting military facilities in retaliation against Iran. ballistic missile bombardment The Islamic Republic opened fire on Israel earlier this month. While explosion sounds were heard in Tehran, the capital of Iran, no information has been given yet about damage or loss of life.

Attack pushes arch-enemies closer to all-out war Spiral of violence in the Middle EastWhere Iran-backed militant groups, including Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon, are already at war with Israel. It also marked the first time the Israeli military had openly attacked Iran, which had not faced a sustained barrage of fire from a foreign enemy since its war with Iraq in the 1980s.

The hours-long Israeli offensive ended just before sunrise in Tehran, and the Israeli military said it targeted “missile production facilities used to produce the missiles that Iran fired at the state of Israel last year.” It also stated that it had hit surface-to-air missile stations and “additional Iranian air capabilities.”

Neither Israel nor Iran provided any initial damage assessment.

“The regime in Iran and its proxies in the region have been relentlessly attacking Israel since October 7, including direct attacks from Iranian territory,” Israeli military spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said in a pre-recorded video statement early Saturday. he said. “The state of Israel, like every other sovereign country in the world, has the right and duty to respond.”

Nuclear facilities and oil facilities were initially seen as possible targets in Israel’s response to Iran’s October 1 attack, but by mid-October the Biden administration believed Israel had won. Assurance from Israel He said that he would not be able to hit such targets and that this would lead to a more violent escalation.

Explosions heard in Tehran

Iran’s state media acknowledged explosions that could be heard in Tehran, saying some of the sounds came from air defense systems around the city.

But beyond a brief reference, Iranian state television provided no further details and even began broadcasting live footage of men loading trucks onto trucks at a Tehran vegetable market in an attempt to downplay the attack.

A Tehran resident who spoke to the Associated Press said that at least seven explosions were heard in the first wave of attacks, shaking the environment. The resident spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation.

As the explosions were heard, people in Tehran could see what looked like streaked firelight in the sky. Other images showed surface-to-air missiles being launched.

Iran closed the country’s airspace early Saturday, and flight tracking data analyzed by the AP showed commercial airlines widely abandoned airlines across Iran, Iraq, Syria and Lebanon.

The White House said President Joe Biden has been briefed and will continue to receive updates.

In Syria, state news agency SANA, citing an unnamed military official, reported that the missiles targeted military facilities in the central and southern regions of the country. It was stated that Syrian air defense shot down some missiles. No information has been given yet about the injured.

Iran’s missile attacks led to Israel’s attack

Iran fired a wave of missiles and drones at Israel last April after two Iranian generals were killed in an Israeli airstrike on an Iranian diplomatic post in Syria. The missiles and drones caused minimal damage, and Israel, under pressure from Western countries to show restraint, responded with a limited strike that it did not openly claim.

But after Iran’s missile attack in early October, Israel promised a tougher response. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu quickly said Iran had “made a big mistake.”

A strong Israeli attack on Iran risks further entanglement with the United States, which maintains a large military presence in the Persian Gulf and helps Israel defend itself against attacks by Iran and its proxies.

Iran fired at least 180 missiles at Israel on the evening of October 1, sending Israelis running toward bomb shelters but causing little damage and few injuries. Iran said the dam was in retaliation for attacks in recent months in which leaders of Hezbollah, Hamas and the Iranian army were killed.

Before Iran’s October attack, Israel had landed a number of missiles. devastating blows It is against Hezbollah, which has been firing rockets at Israel almost daily for more than a year since the deadly Hamas attack on Israel that sparked the war in Gaza.

Dozens of people were killed and thousands were injured when pagers and walkie-talkies used by Hezbollah exploded during two days of attacks attributed to Israel in September. The following week, a major Israeli airstrike outside Beirut killed Hezbollah’s longtime leader Hassan Nasrallah and several of his top commanders.

Israel then increased the pressure on Hezbollah by launching a ground operation in Southern Lebanon. More than a million Lebanese have been displaced and the death toll has risen sharply as air strikes continue to hit Beirut and the surrounding area.

Israel has said it will continue to strike Hezbollah until it is safe for Israeli citizens displaced from their homes near the Lebanese border to return. Hezbollah has vowed to continue firing rockets at Israel until a ceasefire is reached in Gaza.

Israeli attack is the last of the Middle East wars

When Hamas and other militants attacked Israel last October 7, they killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took about 250 people hostage in Gaza. In response, Israel launched a devastating air and ground offensive against Hamas, and Netanyahu vowed to continue it until all hostages were released. About 100 people remained, and roughly a third are believed to be dead.

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

Israel’s attack on Iran on Saturday came as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken returned to the US after a trip to the Middle East, where he and other US officials warned Israel to respond in a way that does not further escalate the conflict in the region. area.

Two US officials said the US was informed by Israel before the attacks. They said that there was no US involvement in the operation. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing operation.

Israel and Iran have been bitter enemies since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Israel sees Iran as the biggest threat, citing its leaders’ calls for Israel’s destruction, their support for anti-Israel militant groups, and the country’s nuclear program.

Israel and Iran have been locked in a shadow war that has been going on for years. Senior Iranian nuclear scientists have been killed in a suspected Israeli assassination campaign. Iran’s nuclear facilities were hacked or sabotaged; These were all mysterious attacks for which Israel was blamed.

Iran, meanwhile, has been blamed for a series of attacks on shipping in the Middle East in recent years, which later escalated into attacks by Houthi rebels in Yemen on shipping via the Red Sea corridor.

Since Hamas’ October 7 attack, its shadow war has increasingly come to light.

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Associated Press writers Amir Vahdat in Tehran, Iran; Tia Goldenberg in Tel Aviv, Israel; Abby Sewell in Beirut; and Lolita C. Baldor, Farnoush Amiri and Zeke Miller in Washington contributed to this report.

First Publication Date: 24 October 2024, 22:31