The Israel Defense Forces said Saturday that three waves of pre-dawn attacks on Iranian military targets had completed Israel’s retaliation against Iran, with U.S. officials saying it was the latest hostile exchange between the regional powers to date. I was hoping that this would be the final blow. The world had been in crisis for weeks, fearing a dangerous escalation of war.
The IDF attacked Iran’s air defense systems and missile production facilities, bypassed its nuclear and oil facilities, and while it appeared to be a limited attack aimed at deterrence through a show of military force, it said it avoided a major escalation. Announced.
President Joe Biden told reporters in Pennsylvania on Saturday that he was notified by Israel before the attack and hoped it would end direct fire between Israel and Iran.
A senior Biden administration official said at a briefing after the airstrike that this was a “very strong view” of the United States and “has been communicated to our partners across the region.”
On Sunday, Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei said the Israeli attack “should not be exaggerated or downplayed” but did not explicitly call for retaliation.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry condemned the attack in a statement on Saturday, asserting Iran’s “inherent right of self-defense” but adding that the country upholds its “responsibility for peace and stability in the region.”
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said in July that Iran was not seeking a broader war in the Middle East and that there would be no winners in such a conflict, and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi echoed this last week. “If a major war breaks out in this region,” he said. , America will be dragged into it, and that’s what we don’t want.”
But in early October, President Pezeshikian threatened “more severe reactions” if Israel took action against Tehran.
The Iranian military said four soldiers were killed in the attack. He also said the airstrikes targeted military centers in Tehran, Khuzestan and Ilam provinces, but downplayed the attack, saying “the damage was limited” and adding that the defense forces “successfully intercepted” the airstrike. Ta.
Iranian state media reported that several explosions were heard in the capital Tehran, and video footage reviewed by NBC News showed Iranian air defenses appearing to engage Israeli projectiles. The capital itself was not hit directly.
And reaction on the ground appeared to be calm as schools and businesses opened as usual, state television continued to air its usual programming and Iranian airspace reopened early Saturday.
Nevertheless, the attack drew condemnation from other countries in the Middle East. Qatar and Saudi Arabia called the attack a “clear violation of Iran’s sovereignty,” while Iraq accused Israel of continuing its “policy of aggression.”
Jordan, one of America’s closest allies in the region, called the attack a “dangerous escalation” that “threatens regional stability.”
The IDF said the attack was in response to “months of sustained attacks” from Iran and its regional allies and was the latest in a months-long cycle of response and retaliation.
On October 1, Iran barraged Israel with missiles. It claimed this was in retaliation for Israel’s assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran in July and Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut in September. Senior commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps. The barrage caused little damage to the country.
The assassination was aimed at weakening Iran-backed Hamas and Hezbollah, with which Israel has been fighting heavy fighting in Gaza and Lebanon since October 2023.
They came after tense exchanges between Israel and Iran in April that began when Israel bombed the Iranian consulate in the Syrian capital Damascus, killing a commander and adviser to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. . Iran responded to the attack with a then-unprecedented barrage of drones and missiles against Israel. Israel retaliated with limited attacks on Iran, which caused little damage.
Iran and Israel have been engaged in a shadow war for decades, with most of their attacks up until last year involving covert attacks or targeting Iranian proxies, including Hamas, Hezbollah, Yemen’s Houthis, and forces in Syria and Iraq. It was fought through
U.S. defense officials told NBC News that Israel informed the U.S. side of Saturday’s attack in advance, but that the U.S. was not involved in the attack.
Iran had previously promised to retaliate against any form of Israeli aggression, but some believe the apparently limited nature of the Israeli attack could end a direct conflict between the two countries. There is.
Michael Milshteyn, director of the Palestine Research Forum at Tel Aviv University’s Dayan Center, told NBC News on Saturday that Israel had given Iran “reasons not to respond” by further escalating tensions, adding that Israel had already shown its air defenses. While the U.S. military presence could serve as a deterrent, the U.S. military presence would also serve as a deterrent.
“At least for now, they seem to have more reasons not to respond in a very strong manner,” he said, warning that it was too early to tell the full story of the Israeli attack.
Yossi Mekelberg, a senior consulting fellow in the Middle East and North Africa Program at Chatham House, echoed Milshteyn’s cautious optimism.
“The fact that Iran is downplaying the attack and the damage is good news,” he told NBC News by phone. “Their downplaying the damage gives them space to say, ‘It’s over, the score is settled.'”
Mekelberg said that the end of direct conflict with Iran, along with the killing of Iranian-backed leaders of Hamas and Hezbollah militant groups, would provide space to move from military action to the “diplomatic and political realm.” He added that there is a possibility.
“Whether Israel and Iran think this way is another matter,” he added.
