Iran warns it will defend itself after Israeli attacks – Middle East and Africa

Israel warned that Iran would “pay a heavy price” if it responded to the attacks, and the United States, Germany and Britain urged Tehran not to escalate the conflict further.

US President Joe Biden said he hoped “this is the end” of the pre-dawn Israeli strikes, noting they “appeared to have hit nothing but military targets”.

Biden called on Israel to spare nuclear and oil facilities in its retaliatory strikes, and the International Atomic Energy Agency confirmed that no nuclear sites were hit.

The European Union called on all parties to show maximum restraint to avoid an “uncontrollable escalation”.

Other countries, including many of Iran’s neighbors, condemned Israel’s attacks, and some, such as Russia, called on both sides to show restraint and avoid what Moscow called a “catastrophic scenario.”

Iran insisted it had the “right and duty” to defend itself, while its Lebanese ally Hezbollah said it had already launched missile salvos targeting five residential areas in northern Israel.

The Israeli military said on Saturday that 80 projectiles had been fired across the border.

Hezbollah later issued evacuation warnings for more than a dozen named locations in Israel, in a new move that mirrors warnings issued by the Israeli military for areas in Gaza and Lebanon where it plans to operate.

“Limited Damages”

Confirming its own strikes after explosions and anti-aircraft fire rang out around Tehran, Israel’s military said it had hit Iranian missile factories and military installations in several provinces.

“The retaliatory strike was concluded and the mission accomplished,” and the Israeli aircraft “returned safely,” a military spokesman said.

Iran confirmed that Israel had targeted military sites around the capital and other provinces, saying the raids caused “limited damage” but killed four soldiers.

The Iranian Armed Forces General Staff said only radar systems were damaged in the strikes and were safe from any threat of immediate retaliation.

“While reserving its legal and legitimate right to respond at the appropriate time, Iran prioritizes the establishment of a lasting ceasefire in Gaza and Lebanon,” the statement said.

Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi held telephone talks with his Egyptian, Qatari and Syrian counterparts.

Qatar’s Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani, a key mediator in Gaza truce efforts, expressed “deep concern over the serious repercussions that may result from this escalation,” his ministry said.

Direct attack

Israel vowed to retaliate after October 1, when Iran fired around 200 missiles in just its second direct attack on its enemy. Most of these missiles were intercepted, but one person was killed.

The Israeli retaliation drew condemnation from Iraq, Pakistan, Syria and Saudi Arabia, which warned against further escalation. Jordan said Israeli planes did not use its airspace.

Turkey has been one of the most outspoken critics, calling for an end to the “terror created by Israel”.

Israel is already engaged in a two-front battle.

Since last month, it has waged a war against Hezbollah in Lebanon, including strikes that killed the group’s senior leadership and ground raids aimed at destroying missile sites.

And for more than a year since the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack, Israel has been waging a war in Gaza that has caused mass civilian casualties in the densely populated Palestinian territory.

The United Nations has warned that the “darkest moment” of that conflict is unfolding, with Palestinians facing a severe humanitarian crisis and daily Israeli shelling.

“True Ally”

A defense official said there was “no US involvement” in the attacks on Iran, but Israeli President Isaac Herzog later paid tribute to “our great friend, the US, for being a true ally and for open cooperation and hidden”. He did not elaborate.

US National Security Council spokesman Sean Savett said Israel’s response was “a self-defense exercise”.

He called on Iran to “cease attacks on Israel so that this cycle of fighting can end without further escalation.”

The Israeli military blamed “Iran and its proxies” in the region for the “relentless attack on Israel since October 7” when Hamas attacked Israel, triggering the Gaza war.

The attack resulted in the deaths of 1,206 people, most of them civilians, according to an official Israeli AFP tally.

Dozens of hostages captured that day are still being held by militants in Gaza.

Israel’s retaliatory bombing and ground war in Gaza have killed 42,924 people, most of them civilians, according to figures from the Hamas-controlled territory’s Ministry of Health, which the United Nations considers reliable.

In late September, Israel turned its attention to Lebanon, striking Hezbollah targets and leaders and then sending in ground troops.

Israel says the goal is to make the north of its country safe for tens of thousands of displaced civilians to return.

At least 1,615 people have been killed in Lebanon since September 23, according to an AFP tally of Lebanese health ministry figures.

In April, in its first direct attack against Israeli territory, Iran launched more than 300 drones and missiles.

Tehran said the barrage was in retaliation for a strike on Iran’s consular annex in Damascus that killed commanders of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Explosions later in April rocked Iran’s Isfahan province in what US officials, quoted by US media, said was Israeli retaliation.

Iran said its October 1 missile attack on Israel was in retaliation for an Israeli airstrike that killed Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah, as well as the assassination in Tehran of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh.

On Friday, Gaza’s Health Ministry accused Israeli forces of storming the last functioning hospital in the north of the territory, in a raid it said left two children dead.

The Israeli military says it is trying to destroy the operational capabilities that Hamas is trying to rebuild in the north.