By JON GAMBRELL, ADAM SCHRECK and TIA GOLDENBERG

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Israel attacked military targets in Iran with air raids before dawn Saturday in retaliation for barrage of ballistic missiles the Islamic Republic fired at Israel earlier this month. The strikes marked the first time Israel’s military has openly attacked Iran.

After the airstrikes, Iran’s Foreign Ministry said it had the right to self-defense and “is considered to have the right and duty to defend itself against foreign acts of aggression.”

Israel’s military said it targeted facilities Iran used to make the missiles fired at Israel as well as surface-to-air missiles. There was no immediate indication that oil or nuclear facilities were hit – which would have marked a much more serious escalation – and Israel did not offer an immediate damage assessment.

Explosions could be heard in Iran’s capital Tehran until sunrise. The Islamic Republic said the attacks caused “limited damage”. Iran’s military said the attacks targeted military bases in Ilam, Khuzestan and Tehran provinces, without going further. Iran’s army said two soldiers were killed, Iran’s Al-Alam television reported.

The strike risks pushing the arch-enemies closer to an all-out war in a time of spiraling violence in the Middle Eastwhere militant groups supported by Iran — including Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon — is already at war with Israel.

The first open Israeli attack on Iran

Iran had not faced a sustained barrage of fire from a foreign enemy since its 1980s war with Iraq.

On October 1, Iran fired at least 180 missiles into Israel in retaliation for devastating blow Israel landed against Hezbollah. They caused minimal damage and some damage. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Iran “made a big mistake”.

Israel is also widely believed to be behind one limited airstrikes in April near a major air base in Iran that hit the radar system of a Russian-made anti-aircraft battery. Iran had launched a wave of missiles and drones in Israel in April, which caused minimal damageafter two Iranian generals were killed in an apparent Israeli airstrike on an Iranian diplomatic post in Syria.

“Iran attacked Israel twice, including in places that posed a danger to civilians, and has paid the price,” Israeli military spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said. “We are focused on our war goals in The Gaza Strip and Lebanon. It is Iran that continues to push for a broader regional escalation.”

Hagari added: “Should the regime in Iran make the mistake of starting another round of escalation, we will be obliged to respond.”

Israel’s attack effectively told Iran that it would not remain silent, while not taking out highly visible or symbolic facilities that could prompt a significant response from Iran, said Yoel Guzansky, a researcher at the Tel Aviv Institute for National Security Studies who previously worked for Israel’s national security. Advice.

It gives Israel room to escalate if needed, and targeting air defense systems weakens Iran’s ability to defend against future attacks, he said, adding that if there is Iranian retaliation, it should be limited.

“There are more chances of Iranian restraint because of their interests, because of outside pressure and because of the nature of the Israeli attack … which allows them to save face,” he said.

Israel has once again demonstrated its military precision and capability is superior to Iran’s, said Sanam Vakil, director of the Middle East and North Africa program at London-based think tank Chatham House.

“By targeting military sites and missile facilities over nuclear and energy infrastructure, Israel is also sending messages that it is not seeking any further escalation at this time. This is a sign that diplomacy and back-channel efforts to dampen the strike were successful. “

Nuclear power plants and oil installations were seen as possible targets for Israel’s response, before US President Joe Biden’s administration won insurance from Israel in mid-October that it would not hit such targets.

After the strikes, the streets of Iran’s capital were calm. Children went to school and shops opened as usual. The only sign of concern was long queues at petrol stations – a common occurrence in Tehran when military violence flares up as people fill up with fuel.

Mixed reactions at home and abroad

Israel’s opposition leader, Yair Lapid, criticized the decision to avoid “strategic and economic targets,” telling the X that “we could and should have demanded a much higher price from Iran.”

The US warned of further retaliation, and the UK said Iran should not respond.

Saudi Arabia was one of several countries in the region to condemn the strike, calling it a violation of Iran’s “sovereignty and a violation of international laws and norms.” Its foreign ministry rejected the escalation in the region.

Regional tensions have been running high in recent weeks.

In Lebanon, dozens were killed and thousands injured in September when pagers and walkie-talkies used by Hezbollah exploded during two days of attacks attributed to Israel. A massive Israeli airstrike the following week outside Beirut killed Hezbollah’s longtime leader Hassan Nasrallahand several of his top commanders.

Israel increased the pressure on Hezbollah by launching a ground invasion in southern Lebanon. More than a million Lebanese have been displacedand the death toll has risen sharply as airstrikes hit in and around Beirut.

Antipathy between the countries goes back decades

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

During their years-long shadow war, a suspected Israeli assassination campaign has killed top Iranian nuclear scientists, and Iranian nuclear facilities have been hacked or sabotaged, all in mysterious attacks blamed on Israel.

At the same time, Iran has been blamed for a series of attacks on shipping in the Middle East, which later escalated attacks by Yemen’s Houthi rebels on shipping through the Red Sea corridor.

The shadow war has increasingly moved 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 to Gaza. In response, Israel launched a devastating air and ground offensive against Hamas, and Netanyahu has vowed to keep fighting until all the hostages are released. About a hundred remain, of whom about a third are believed to be dead.

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

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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.

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Originally published: October 26, 2024 at 02.54