Israel conducts airstrikes against Iranian military targets

Israel attacked military targets in Iran with a series of pre-dawn airstrikes Oct. 26 in retaliation for the barrage of ballistic missiles the Islamic Republic fired upon Israel earlier in the month.

The Israeli military said its aircraft targeted facilities that Iran used to make the missiles fired at Israel as well as surface-to-air missile sites. There was no immediate indication that oil or missile sites were hit – strikes that would have marked a much more serious escalation – and Israel offered no immediate damage assessment.

Explosions could be heard in the Iranian capital, Tehran, though the Islamic Republic insisted they caused only “limited damage” and Iranian state-run media downplayed the attacks. Iran’s army said two of its troops had been killed in the attack, Iran’s Al-Alam television reported.

Still, the strikes risk pushing the archenemies closer to all-out war at a time of spiraling violence across the Middle East, where militant groups backed by Iran – including Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon – are already at war with Israel.

Following the airstrikes, Iran’s Foreign Ministry issued a statement saying it had a right to self-defense, and “considers itself entitled and obligated to defend against foreign acts of aggression.”

The first open Israeli attack on Iran

“Iran attacked Israel twice, including in locations that endangered civilians, and has paid the price for it,” said Israeli military spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari.

“We are focused on our war objectives in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon. It is Iran that continues to push for a wider regional escalation.”

Photos and video released by Israel showed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, wearing a black casual jacket, and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant meeting with military advisers and others in a conference room at a military command and control center in the Kirya military base in Tel Aviv.

The strikes filled the air for hours until sunrise in Iran. They marked the first time Israel’s military has openly attacked Iran, which hasn’t faced a sustained barrage of fire from a foreign enemy since its 1980s war with Iraq.

“Israel has yet again shown its military precision and capabilities are far superior to that of Iran,” said Sanam Vakil, the director of the Middle East and North Africa program at the London-based think tank Chatham House.

“By targeting military sites and missile facilities over nuclear and energy infrastructure, Israel is also messaging that it seeks no further escalation for now. This is a sign that the diplomacy and backchannel efforts to moderate the strike were successful.”

Israel is also widely thought to have been behind a limited airstrike in April near a major air base in Iran in which the radar system for a Russian-made air defense battery was hit.

Israel’s attack effectively sent the message to 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 Tel Aviv’s Institute for National Security Studies who formerly worked for Israel’s National Security Council.

At the same time, it also gives Israel room for further escalation if needed, and the targeting of air defense systems weakens Iran’s capabilities to defend against future attacks, he said, adding that if there is Iranian retaliation, he expects it to be limited.

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

In the aftermath of the strikes, the streets of the Iranian capital were calm. Children went to school and shops opened as usual, with the only sign of concern being long lines at the gas stations – a regular occurrence in Tehran when military violence flares or during natural disasters when people stock up on fuel.

Mixed reactions at home and abroad

Israel’s opposition leader, Yair Lapid, criticized the decision to avoid “strategic and economic targets” in the attack.

“We could and should have exacted a much heavier price from Iran,” Mr. Lapid wrote on social media platform X.

The United States warned against further retaliation, indicating that the overnight strikes should end the direct exchange of fire between Israel and Iran, and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said “Iran should not respond.”

Iran’s state-run media acknowledged blasts that could be heard in Tehran and said some of the sounds came from air defense systems around the city. But beyond a brief reference, Iranian state television offered no other details for hours.

Iran may be trying to end escalating tit-for-tat attacks

Iran’s move to quickly downplay the attack may offer an avenue for it not to respond, averting further escalation.

Iran fired a wave of missiles and drones at Israel in April after two Iranian generals were killed in an apparent Israeli airstrike in Syria on an Iranian diplomatic post. The missiles and drones caused minimal damage, and Israel – under pressure from Western countries to show restraint – responded with a limited strike it didn’t openly claim.

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

On Oct. 1, Iran launched at least 180 missiles into Israel in retaliation, sending Israelis scrambling into bomb shelters but causing only minimal damage and a few injuries.

Mr. Netanyahu immediately said Iran had “made a big mistake.”

Israel then ratcheted up the pressure on Hezbollah by launching a ground invasion into southern Lebanon. More than a million Lebanese people have been displaced, and the death toll has risen sharply as airstrikes hit in and around Beirut.

This story was reported by The Associated Press. 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.