The Israel Defense Forces said Saturday that three waves of pre-dawn attacks on Iranian military targets had completed Israel’s retaliation against Iran, and U.S. officials said it was a sign of hostility between the regional powers that have dominated the world. I was hoping that this would be the final blow of this exchange. There had been a tense situation for weeks, fearing a dangerous escalation of war.
One Iranian civilian was killed in one of the airstrikes on the outskirts of Tehran, Iranian state media FARS news agency reported on Sunday.
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.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the attack “inflicted significant damage” on Iran and that “all (their) goals were achieved.”
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant briefed U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin on the attack, which Gallant announced on Sunday, targeting a missile manufacturing facility, a surface-to-air missile array, and Iranian air capabilities. .
They also spoke of “strategic opportunities” that may have arisen in Lebanon and Gaza.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei said the Israeli attack should not be exaggerated or downplayed, but did not explicitly call for retaliation.
According to state news agency IRNA, Khamenei made the comments while welcoming the families of Iranian soldiers killed in the attack. Khamenei said Israel’s “exaggeration is wrong, but it is also wrong to downplay their actions.”
He also said Israel had miscalculated Iran’s strength and determination and “we need to make them understand all this.”
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.”
In a letter to the UN Secretary-General, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Aragushi reiterated the organization’s “inherent” rights under the organization’s charter and called on the UN to condemn Israel. He added that Iran reserves the right to respond “at the appropriate time,” according to a copy of the letter published by Iranian state news agency IRNA.
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, which Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi also said last week. The same applies, he said, “if a major war breaks out.” The United States will also be involved in this region, and that’s not what we want.”
However, 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 airstrike targeted military centers in Tehran, Khuzestan and Iram provinces, but he downplayed the attack, saying “the damage was limited” and saying the defense forces had “successfully intercepted” the airstrike. said.
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 reactions on the ground in Iran appeared to be calm as schools and businesses opened as usual, state television continued to air its regular programming and Iranian airspace reopened early Saturday morning.
Regional tensions rise
Saturday’s strike drew condemnation from Middle Eastern countries. Jordan, one of America’s closest allies in the region, called the attack a “dangerous escalation” that “threatens regional stability.”
Qatar and Saudi Arabia called the attack a “clear violation of Iran’s sovereignty,” while Iraq accused Israel of continuing its “policy of aggression.”
The IDF said the attack on Iran was in response to “months of continuous 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. 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, which have been engaged in fierce fighting with Israel 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 strikes against Iran, which caused little damage.
Iran and Israel have been waging a shadow war for decades, and until last year, most of it had involved covert attacks or attacks on 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.
Although Iran has previously promised to retaliate against any form of Israeli aggression, some believe the apparently limited nature of the Israeli attack could end direct conflict between the two countries.
Michael Milshteyn, director of the Palestine Research Forum at Tel Aviv University’s Dayan Center, told NBC News on Saturday that Israel has given Iran “a reason not to respond” by further escalating tensions, and Israel has already shown air defenses. While the presence of U.S. troops would be able to counter such attacks, it 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 an end to direct conflict with Iran, along with the killing of Iranian-backed leaders of Hamas and Hezbollah, could create room to move away from military action and into the “diplomatic and political realm.” He added that it is sexual.
“Whether Israel and Iran think this way is another matter,” he added.
