Iran: Israel launches three waves of strikes on military targets

Israel has targeted Iranian military sites during three waves of airstrikes.

The Israeli military said it conducted the "precise strikes" in response to what it called "the continuous attacks from the regime in Iran against Israel".

It is the first time Israel's military has openly attacked Iran, which has not faced a sustained barrage of fire from a foreign enemy since its 1980s war with Iraq.

Following the strikes that ended just before sunrise on Saturday, an Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) statement said: "Based on intelligence, IAF aircraft struck missile manufacturing facilities used to produce the missiles that Iran fired at the State of Israel over the last year.

Middle East latest: IDF confirms airstrikes on Tehran

"These missiles posed a direct and immediate threat to the citizens of the State of Israel.

"Simultaneously, the IDF struck surface-to-air missile arrays and additional Iranian aerial capabilities, that were intended to restrict Israel's aerial freedom of operation in Iran."

An IDF spokesman added Israel is on "peak alert" for retaliatory strikes from Iran.

Earlier, an Israeli official told NBC News - Sky News' US partner network - that Israel was "targeting things that might have threatened us in the past or could do in the future".

Iran has said the airstrikes targeted military bases in Ilam, Khuzestan and Tehran provinces, causing "limited damage".

The attack risks pushing the long-time enemies closer to an all-out war as violence across the Middle East spirals following Hamas' attack on Israel last October.

Hamas in Gaza, and Hezbollah in Lebanon, have been engaged in a war with Israel following the killing by Hamas militants of about 1,200 people in Israel and kidnapping of 250.

Reports in the US said the White House was warned shortly before the strikes on Iran began.

And following the military action, the US warned Tehran against engaging in retaliatory attacks.

It said in a statement that Israel's latest attack on Iran should "complete" the exchange of fire between the two enemy states.

A Whitehall source told Sky News that the strikes, "on the face of it", looked to be in line with expectations given that Israel had launched strikes on "military targets" rather than the country's infrastructure or senior leaders.

A British government spokesman said: "We support Israel's right to self defence and to protect itself in line with international humanitarian law. Further escalation is in no one's interest."

Israel has been planning a response to a ballistic-missile barrage carried out by Iran on 1 October - Tehran's second direct attack on Israel in six months.

Analysis:
Scale of retaliation will dictate whether Iran and Israel are on path to all-out war

Iranian authorities have warned Israel against launching an attack, saying any strike on Iran would be met with a stronger retaliation.

Syrian state TV has also said explosions have been heard in the Damascus countryside and central region.

It added that the country's air defences had "confronted hostile targets" over the capital.

The strikes happened just as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived home after a tour of the Middle East.

During the visit, he and other US officials had warned any Israeli response should not further escalate the conflict in the region.

Israel and Iran have been bitter foes since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Israel considers Iran to be its greatest threat, citing its leaders' calls for Israel's destruction, their support for anti-Israel militant groups and the country's nuclear programme.

(c) Sky News 2024: Iran: Israel launches three waves of strikes on military targets