Israel launched “precise strikes against military targets in Iran” in the early hours of Saturday, officials said.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said the attacks were in response to “months of continuous attacks” by Iran and its allies in the region.
PREMIUM TIMES reported that Iran, on October 1, launched nearly 200 ballistic missiles at Israel. That attack targeted military bases in Israel.
CNN reported that the retaliatory Israeli strike appears limited to military sites and not Iranian nuclear facilities or oil fields.
In a statement, the IDF said it completed its strikes and its “mission was accomplished.” Its planes hit missile manufacturing facilities as well as surface-to-air missile arrays, the Israeli military said.
Iran, meanwhile, has downplayed Israel's retaliatory offensive, saying it produced “limited damage” in certain areas, the country's National Air Defense Headquarters said in a statement reported by NBC News.
“The country's integrated air defense system successfully intercepted and countered this aggressive action, although limited damage has been reported in certain areas,” the defense agency said.
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He acknowledged that Israel attacked military facilities in Tehran, as well as in the provinces of Khuzestan and Ilam, calling it a “provocative attack.”
The statement further described Israel's move as “adventurous” and defying warnings not to target targets in Iranian territory. But there was no mention of a possible answer.
“The scope of this incident is currently under investigation,” the defense agency said.
The attacks come amid Israel's ongoing war against Hamas in neighboring Gaza, as well as its attack on Iran-backed Hezbollah fighters in Lebanon.
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The United States said it was not involved in the attack on Iran, but was fully informed about the attacks.
A senior administration official told NBC that Saturday's attacks “should be the end of the direct military exchange between Israel and Iran.”
“This should be the end of direct military exchange between Israel and Iran,” the official said. “As far as we are concerned, that should close the direct exchange between Israel and Iran.”
The official said Biden and his security team “worked with the Israelis over the past few weeks to encourage Israel to carry out a targeted and proportionate response with low risk of civilian harm and that is precisely what happened tonight.”