Iran has been warned not to retaliate after Israel struck military sites across the country overnight during a three-hour wave of attacks.
Dozens of Israeli fighter jets, flying almost 1,000 miles from the country’s borders, hit Iranian ballistic missile production facilities, air defence batteries and missile launchers.
Codenamed “Days of Repentance”, the Israeli airstrikes were revenge for the salvo of around 200 Iranian ballistic missiles fired at Israel on October 1. That Iranian attack was itself a response to Israel’s assassination of Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed militia in Lebanon.
Explosions heard over Tehran as Israel conducts airstrikes
Lebanon drones targeting Israel ‘intercepted’
The Israeli military said it intercepted two drones targeting Israel from Lebanon on Saturday following its strike on several military targets inside Iran.
“Following the sirens that sounded between 08.39 am (05.39 GMT) and 08.41 am in the Upper Galilee area, the IAF [Israeli Air Force] intercepted a UAV [unmanned aerial vehicle] that crossed into Israel from Lebanon,” the military said in a statement.
It later added that a second drone had also crossed into Israel and been intercepted.
Starmer: Iran should not respond
Keir Starmer speaks at the Commonwealth summit in Samoa
Keir Starmer said Iran should not respond to a wave of Israeli strikes and urged restraint on all sides.
“I am clear that Israel has the right to defend itself against Iranian aggression and I am equally clear that we need to avoid further regional escalation and urge all sides to show restraint,” the prime minister said at a press conference from the Commonwealth summit in Samoa.
“Iran should not respond. We will continue to work with allies to de-escalate the situation across the region.”
US praises ‘targeted and proportional’ strikes
A senior official in President Biden’s administration said the US had pushed Binyamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, for a “targeted and proportional” response and said it appears that was “precisely what transpired”.
“Should Iran choose to respond, we are fully prepared to once again defend against any attack,” the White House official said in a briefing with reporters. “This should be the end of this direct exchange of fire between Israel and Iran. Israel has made clear to the world that its response is now complete.”
Israel ‘did not hit Iran nuclear or oil facilities’
Tehran seen after Israel confirms military strikes on Iran
FATEMEH BAHRAMI/ANADOLU/GETTY IMAGES
Israel claims it successfully destroyed several key military targets in the Islamic Republic whilst refraining from hitting Iran’s nuclear and oil facilities.
The strikes on Iran started around 2.15am and continued into the early hours of the morning. An intelligence source with knowledge of the Israeli operations told the Times that “Israel completely neutralised Iran’s air defence systems.”
Iran said the attack had only caused “slight damage” and it had “successfully” intercepted airstrikes on military sites in Tehran, Khuzestan, and Ilam.
Saudi Arabia condemns Israeli strikes
Saudi Arabia has condemned the military targeting of Iran as a “violation of its sovereignty” and international laws.
It urged all parties to exercise maximum restraint and called on the international community to take action towards de-escalation and ending conflicts in the region.
“The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia expresses its condemnation and denunciation” its foreign ministry said on X, adding the Israeli strikes “threatens the security and the stability of countries and peoples” in the Middle East.
Iran resumes flights following attack
Iran has announced the resumption of flights after a brief suspension following the Israeli attack that targeted several military sites in the country.
“Flights will return to normal from 9.00 am (0530 GMT) on Saturday,” the spokesperson of the Civil Aviation Organisation said, according to the official IRNA news agency.