Daylight has broken in Iran after several hours of Israeli airstrikes. The Israeli military said the strikes, which have now ended, were in retaliation for Iran’s ballistic missiles at Israel earlier this month and in April.

Israel’s military has warned Iran against further escalation, saying it “reserves the right to defend its citizens”, as fears grow that the long-running confrontation between the two powerful militaries could escalate into a wider regional war – potentially drawing the United States.

The Israeli military said it struck manufacturing sites used to make missiles that Iran has fired at Israel over the past year. It is unclear whether these manufacturing facilities also produced missiles fired by Iranian proxies Hezbollah, Hamas and Houthi rebels in Yemen as tensions in the region have boiled over since Israel’s invasion of Gaza more than a year ago.

Israel also said it hit Iranian air defense sites early Saturday to allow its planes to attack the other targets.

Iran’s official Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) said parts of military sites in three provinces – Tehran, Ilam and Khuzestan – were hit, but that its air defenses were successful and damage was “limited”.

“The dimensions of this incident are under investigation,” IRNA said. Earlier, videos posted on social media by Tehran residents showed explosions in the sky and trailing fire rising from the city as dawn approached.

Images broadcast by Iranian state media showed calm on Tehran’s streets, with traffic moving and people going about their daily business.

Israel’s decision to strike early Saturday morning came after weeks of deliberations within its security cabinet over the nature and scope of such an attack, Israeli officials said.

The United States pressed Israel not to attack Iran’s energy infrastructure for fear of igniting a wider conflict, a request Israel appears to have heeded, according to preliminary reports.

“This should be the end of this direct exchange of fire between Israel and Iran,” a senior US administration official said after the attacks.