Israel launches airstrikes against Iran in retaliation for missile attack

Israel’s military described the operation as “precise strikes on military targets in Iran,” though no further details on the damage were immediately available.

In a statement, the Israeli military claimed that Iran and its regional proxies had been “relentlessly attacking Israel since October 7 on seven fronts”, including direct strikes from Iranian territory. “Like every other sovereign country in the world, the State of Israel has the right and the duty to respond,” the statement added.

A destroyed journalists’ car at the site where an Israeli airstrike hit a compound housing journalists, killing three media staffers from two different news agencies according to Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency, in Hasbaya village, southeast Lebanon, on Friday. (Photo: AP)

Israel did not immediately say where or how the strikes were being carried out.

Witnesses in Tehran reported hearing multiple explosions. Iranian state-run media initially acknowledged the blasts, attributing some sounds to the city’s air defence systems. One resident told news agency Associated Press that at least seven explosions were heard, shaking the surrounding area; the individual spoke on condition of anonymity due to fear of reprisals.

The strike coincided with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s return to the United States after a Middle East tour where he urged Israel to limit its response, warning against escalating tensions further and excluding any nuclear sites in Iran.

In this image taken from video released by the Israel Defense Forces early Saturday, Israeli military spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari announces that the IDF is conducting strikes on military targets in Iran. (Photo: AP)

Israel’s attack would be the first time that a foreign air force struck Iran since its war with Iraq in 1980s. During that eight-year conflict, the fighting was mostly concentrated along Iran’s border with Iraq.

(with inputs from AP)