The Israeli army has carried out strikes on military targets in Iran in response to what it said were months of attacks by “Iran and its proxies” in the region.
Iran’s military confirmed that Israeli strikes targeted military bases in the provinces of Ilam, Khuzestan and Tehran, and had caused “limited damage”.
US President Joe Biden “encouraged” Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a phone call last week to “design” a retaliatory attack against Iran that would “deter future attacks against Israel,” a senior US administration official said.
American officials had expected Israel to retaliate against Iran before November 5, a timeline that would thrust the growing volatility in the Middle East squarely into public view within days of the American presidential election.
Biden called Netanyahu on his way to Germany on October 17 to discuss the killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar.
Iran’s state media broadcast images of peaceful streets in at least four cities Saturday as day broke following Israel’s overnight attack on military facilities in three Iranian provinces.
Cities across the country, including the capital Tehran, remained calm and “normal,” according to a broadcast by state news agency IRNA.
Israel’s retaliatory attack on Iran targeted its air defense systems and missile production facilities, the Israeli military’s top spokesperson said Saturday, following confirmation that the strikes had ended.
Iran said the attack on “military centers in the provinces of Tehran, Khuzestan and Ilam” caused “limited damage.”
