Israeli army says its response to ‘months of attacks’ by Iran was complete and warns Tehran against retaliation.
The Iranian army said two soldiers have been killed in Israeli air strikes that targeted military bases, after Israel said it had “completed” its attack and warned against any retaliation.
The Israeli army struck military sites in Iran after 2am on Saturday (22:30 GMT on Friday) in response to what it said were months of attacks by “Iran and its proxies” in the region.
Hours later the Israeli military said it had “completed” the strikes and “achieved its objectives”.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Iran was “entitled and obligated to defend itself against external aggressive acts” after the attacks on its soil.
Iran’s air defence headquarters, in a statement, confirmed that bases in the provinces of Ilam, Khuzestan and Tehran were hit but the attacks were “successfully countered”.
“Though minor damages were caused in some areas, and the extent of the incident is currently under investigation,” it said. There was no immediate indication that oil or missile sites were hit.
Stressing that the US did not participate in the operation, he said “it is our aim to accelerate diplomacy and de-escalate tensions in the Middle East region”.
Several countries condemned the strikes and called for restraint.
Analyst Abas Aslani said this was the first time Israel admitted to a direct strike on Iran, with Tehran downplaying the impact and Israel exaggerating its achievements.
“This indicates that … Israel may be encouraged by the US to avoid a full-scale war in the region,” Aslani, a senior research fellow at the Center for Middle East Strategic Studies, told Al Jazeera from Tehran.
“The initial assessment and the initial reaction here in Tehran indicates that maybe a serious or significant reaction, a direct reaction against Israel, was not as likely.”
However, he added that some sort of response from Iran should be expected.
Tensions between archrivals Israel and Iran have escalated after a Hamas-led led attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023. Since then, at least 42,847 people have been killed and 100,544 wounded in Israel’s war on Gaza.
Fears that Iran and the US would be drawn into a regional war have risen with Israel’s intensifying assault on Hezbollah since last month, including air strikes on the Lebanese capital, Beirut, and a ground operation.
SOURCE: ALJAZEERA
