An Israeli attack on Iran had been expected since Iran launched nearly 200 ballistic missiles toward Israel nearly a month ago.
In a statement announcing the operation was underway on Saturday, an Israeli military spokesperson said Israel had the “right and obligation” to respond and had mobilized its full defense and offensive forces. .
Iranian state media confirmed that explosions were heard in western Tehran.
However, it is not yet clear what exactly the target was and whether the Israeli attack was successful.
News sites close to Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said some military bases west and southwest of the Iranian capital were targeted.
Syria’s state news agency said Israeli airstrikes also targeted some military facilities in south-central Syria.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office released a photo of him at the military headquarters’ operations center during the attack.
At least for now, Iranian media is downplaying the impact. The true nature of what happened will only gradually emerge from Iranian authorities.
Israel may move more quickly to reveal details of the attack. But that may depend on whether there are plans to run another wave.
The Pentagon said at a briefing that the United States had been informed of Israel’s plans in advance and that there was no US involvement in the operation.
This is important in US efforts to prevent the Israeli-Iranian conflict from escalating into a confrontation that could move ever closer to all-out war.
The United States is also waiting for the situation to calm down to determine whether Israel’s targets are limited to military targets or extend beyond that to include facilities related to Iran’s nuclear program. However, if that happens, there is a possibility that Tehran will once again respond on a large scale.
For now, based on the scant evidence available, Israel may have heeded Washington’s warnings and curbed some of its more ambitious plans to inflict maximum pain on Iranian authorities.
It is now up to Iran’s leadership to decide how to respond.
The semi-official Tasnim news agency said Israel was certain to face what it called a “proportional response.”
The Israeli military has already said it has an obligation to retaliate if Iran makes the mistake of starting a new escalation.
