Israel’s top military spokesperson confirmed Saturday morning (local time) that the country has concluded its “response” to Iran.
“I can now confirm that we have concluded the Israeli response to Iran’s attacks against Israel,” Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said in a video message shared by the Israel Defense Forces.
“We conducted targeted and precise strikes on military targets in Iran – thwarting immediate threats to the State of Israel. The Israel Defense Forces has fulfilled its mission,” he said.
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Hagari warned that if Iran were to begin “a new round of escalation,” Israel will be “obligated to respond.”
“Our message is clear: All those who threaten the state of Israel and seek to drag the region into a wider escalation will pay a heavy price,” he said. “We demonstrated today that we have both the capability and the resolve to act decisively, and we are prepared on offense and defence, to defend the state of Israel and the people of Israel.”
Israel’s military conducted “precise strikes on military targets in Iran,” it said in a statement early on Saturday local time, after reports emerged of explosions heard in Tehran.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said that the strikes were a response to Iran, which had been “relentlessly attacking” Israel since October 7th “on seven fronts – including direct attacks from Iranian soil.”
“Like every other sovereign country in the world, the State of Israel has the right and the duty to respond,” the statement added.
The semi-official Tasnim news agency reported that several explosions were heard west of the Iranian capital.
Several explosions were heard in Tehran on Saturday morning local time, according to the Iranian semi-official Fars news agency.
Iran said Israel attacked military facilities across the country, causing “limited damage” in some areas.
Israel “attacked parts of military centres in the provinces of Tehran, Khuzestan and Ilam,” state news agency IRNA reported, adding that “the attack has been successfully intercepted and countered” by Iran’s “integrated air defence system.”
Iranian officials earlier said air defences were deployed “in several areas around Tehran and the country,” according to IRNA.
The explosions come as the region has braced for Israeli response to Iran’s attack earlier this month.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu conducted a “security situation assessment” from the Kirya military base in Tel Aviv, according to the prime minister’s office.
Those in attendance include Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, the chief of staff of the Israel Defense Forces and the heads of its intelligence agencies Mossad and Shin Bet, the statement said.
The United States did not participate in the Israeli military’s operations against Iran, a senior administration official said Friday (local time).
“We understand that Israel is conducting targeted strikes against military targets in Iran as an exercise of self-defence and in response to Iran’s ballistic missile attack against Israel on October 1st. We would refer you to the Israeli government for more information on their operation,” said Sean Savett, White House National Security Council spokesperson, said in a statement.
Israel did give the White House a heads up in advance of the strikes, according to a source familiar with the notification.
US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin and Israeli Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant spoke about Israel’s strikes on Iranian military targets.
Austin “emphasised the enhanced force posture” of US troops to defend US personnel and Israel, Pentagon spokesman Major General Pat Ryder said in a statement Friday evening.
“Secretary Austin reaffirmed the ironclad commitment of the United States to Israel’s security and right to self-defense,” Ryder said.
“The Secretary emphasised the enhanced force posture of the United States to defend US personnel, Israel, and partners across the region in the face of threats from Iran and Iran-backed terrorist organizations and the US determination to prevent any actor from exploiting tensions or expanding the conflict in the region.”
A Tehran resident told CNN she “woke up to a distant sound of blasts” in the early hours of Saturday morning local time.
Speaking to CNN anonymously due to security concerns, she said she looked through the windows of her house to check for any signs of the blasts’ aftermath but could not see anything.
She also told CNN there was a heavy Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps presence in the city “all day” on Friday, but could not provide more details.
The “several sounds of explosions” heard in Tehran were related to the country’s air defence systems, Iranian state-run Press TV reported Saturday, citing security sources.
Iranian state news IRNA said that the situation at Mehrabad and Imam Khomeini airports is normal.
International flights began diverting around western Iran as news of the strikes broke, flight-tracking data showed.
Meanwhile, state media in Syria described its air defences as targeting “hostile targets” there as well.
Iran has launched two ballistic missile attacks on Israel in recent months amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip that began with the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. That initial attack killed some 1200 people and saw 250 others taken hostage back to the seaside enclave.