Israel announced the commencement of “precise strikes” on military targets in Iran on Saturday in retaliation for Iranian missile attacks, with a journalist in Tehran reporting several explosions.
“In response to months of continuous attacks from the Iranian regime against the State of Israel –– at present, the Israel Defence Forces (Israeli military) are conducting precise strikes on military targets in Iran,” stated the military.
Israel had pledged to retaliate following the missile attack on 1 October by Iran, with Defence Minister Yoav Gallant promising a response that would be “deadly, precise and surprising.”
Israel has been engaged in conflict with the Iran-backed group Hamas in Gaza since the deadliest attack in its history on 7 October 2023, which left 1,206 people dead, most of them civilians, according to tally based on official Israeli figures.
The scope of Israel’s operations has since widened to include Lebanon, where Israel has vowed to secure its northern border following nearly a year of attacks by Iran-backed Hezbollah in support of Hamas.
“Our defensive and offensive capabilities are fully mobilised,” the Israeli military said in a statement.
In a separate statement, military spokesman Daniel Hagari advised people to remain “alert and vigilant.”
Iran’s 1 October strike, its second direct attack on Israel, followed an Israeli air raid that killed Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah and Revolutionary Guards general Abbas Nilforoushan in Lebanon on 27 September.
This also followed the killing of Hamas’s political leader, Ismail Haniyeh, in Tehran on 31 July in an attack widely attributed to Israel.
The escalating violence has raised fears across the region of a wider war, pitting Israel against Iran and its allies, whom it refers to as the “axis of resistance.”
Iranian state television reported on Saturday that “strong explosions” were heard around the capital, though it did not specify their cause.
“Minutes ago, sounds of strong explosions were heard around Tehran; the source of these sounds is not yet clear,” stated a presenter on state television.
The network later reported that “six loud blasts” were heard in areas of Tehran.
An AFP reporter also heard the explosions.
Iranian media stated that no fire or explosions had been reported at a major oil refinery near the capital.
Iran has recently warned that any attack on its “infrastructure” would provoke an “even stronger response,” with Revolutionary Guards general Rassul Sanairad stating that an attack on nuclear or energy sites would cross a red line.
A spokesperson for the US National Security Council, Sean Savett, said that the “targeted strikes on military targets” were “an act of self-defence in response to Iran’s ballistic missile attack against Israel on 1 October.”
The United States was “informed beforehand and is not involved,” a US defence official told media on condition of anonymity.
The official did not specify how much notice the United States had received or the extent of Israel’s disclosure.
The scope and nature of Saturday’s strike were not immediately clear, though Syrian state news agency SANA reported that Syrian air defences had intercepted what it described as “hostile targets” near the capital, Damascus.
“Our anti-aircraft defence is confronting hostile targets in the skies around Damascus,” SANA reported on Telegram.
SANA also noted “sounds of explosions” near Damascus, though the origin of those blasts was unclear.