Three waves of pre-dawn strikes on military targets in Iran on Saturday completed Israel’s retaliation against Iran, the Israel Defense Forces said, in what U.S. officials and others hoped would be the final blow of fire in a hostile exchange between the two regional powers. the world remained on edge for weeks, fearing a dangerous extension of the war.
The Israeli military said it struck air defense systems and missile manufacturing facilities in Iran, avoiding nuclear and oil facilities in what appeared to be a limited attack aimed at deterring by showing its military might, while avoiding a major escalation.
President Joe Biden told reporters in Pennsylvania on Saturday that he had been briefed by Israel before the attack and that he hoped it would end direct fire between Israel and Iran.
In a briefing following the strikes, a senior Biden administration official said it was a “very strong view” of the United States and that “it has been communicated to our partners throughout the region.”
On Sunday, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei said the Israeli attack “should not be exaggerated or downplayed” but did not specifically call for retaliation.
#BreakingNews: A video shows the intense commitment of #Tehranair defenses, probably targeting #Israeli drones – all successfully intercepted. #WE officials say #Israelthe attack against #Iran should last “several hours”. pic.twitter.com/mouyFGPTwo
– NewWorldOrderObserver (@Mostafa_Fathi_S) October 26, 2024
Iran’s Foreign Ministry condemned the attack in a statement Saturday, affirming Iran’s “inherent right to self-defense” but added that the country will shoulder its “responsibilities for regional peace and stability.” .
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said in July that Iran was not seeking to expand the war in the Middle East and that such a conflict would have no winner, which Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi echoed last week, saying that “if a major war breaks out in the region, America will be dragged into it, which we don’t want.” »
However, earlier in October, Pezeshkian threatened to “react harsher” if Israel took action against Tehran.
The Iranian military said four soldiers were killed in the attacks. It also said the strikes targeted military centers in Tehran, Khuzestan and Ilam provinces, but downplayed the attack, saying “damage was limited” and that its defense forces “managed to intercept » hits her.
Iranian state media reported several explosions that could be heard from the capital, Tehran, and video footage verified by NBC News showed Iranian air defense forces appearing to engage in fire with Israeli projectiles. The capital itself was not directly affected.
And the reaction on the ground in Iran appeared subdued as schools and businesses opened as usual and state television continued to broadcast regular programs, with Iranian airspace reopening early Saturday morning.
The Israeli army announced Friday that it was carrying out “precise strikes on military targets in Iran.”
Nevertheless, the strikes were condemned by other Middle Eastern countries. Qatar and Saudi Arabia called the attack a “blatant violation of Iran’s sovereignty,” while Iraq accused Israel of continuing its “aggressive policy.”
Jordan, one of the United States’ closest allies in the region, called the strikes a “dangerous escalation” that “threatens the stability of the region.”
The Israeli military said the strikes were a response to “months of continuous attacks” by Iran and its allies in the region, the latest in a months-long cycle of response and retaliation.
On October 1, Iran fired a barrage of missiles at Israel, claiming it was in retaliation for Israel’s assassination of the Hamas leader. Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran in July, as well as the assassination of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut in September, alongside a senior commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards. This dam caused little damage to the country.
The assassinations aimed to weaken Iran-backed Hamas and Hezbollah, with whom Israel has been engaged in an intense war in Gaza and Lebanon since October 2023.
They came after a tense exchange between Israel and Iran in April, which began when Israel bombed an Iranian consular compound in the Syrian capital, Damascus, killing commanders and advisers of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps . Iran responded to this attack with a barrage of drones and missiles on Israel that was unprecedented at the time. Israel responded with a limited strike against Iran that caused little damage.
Iran and Israel have been engaged in a shadow war for decades, which before last year was fought primarily through covert attacks or through Iran’s proxies, including Hamas, Hezbollah, Houthis in Yemen and forces in Syria and Iraq.
U.S. defense officials told NBC News that Israel informed their U.S. counterparts in advance of Saturday’s strikes, but that the United States was not involved in the attack.
While Iran has previously vowed to retaliate against any form of Israeli aggression, some believe the seemingly limited nature of the Israeli attack could potentially end direct conflict between the two nations.
Michael Milshtein, director of the Palestinian Studies Forum at Tel Aviv University’s Dayan Center, told NBC News on Saturday that Israel has given Iran a reason to “not respond” in a way that aggravates further tensions, adding that Israel has already demonstrated its air defenses. can handle an attack, while the presence of American troops would also serve as a deterrent.
“It seems that at the moment, at least, they have more reason not to react very harshly,” he said, before expressing caution that he was too early to give a full picture of the scale of the Israeli strikes.
Yossi Mekelberg, senior consultant in Chatham House’s Middle East and North Africa program, echoed Milshtein’s cautious optimism.
“The fact that Iran is downplaying the attack and what was hit is good news,” he told NBC News by telephone. “By being dismissive of the damage, it gives them the space to say ‘it’s done, the scores are settled’.”
Mekelberg added that ending all direct conflict with Iran, alongside the assassination of leaders of Iran-backed militant groups Hamas and Hezbollah, could create space to move from military action “to the diplomatic and political sphere.
“Whether Israel and Iran think that way is another matter,” he added.
Andrea Mitchell, Courtney Kube, Mosheh Gains, Amin Khodadadi and Ammar Cheikh Omar contributed.
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