Israeli strikes in Iran, in retaliation for an Iranian missile attack earlier this month, killed four Iranian soldiers, the Iranian military said.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it targeted missile factories and other sites near Tehran and western Iran early Saturday.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry said it had a responsibility to defend itself, but added that Iran “recognizes that it is responsible for the peace and security of the region,” a statement seen as conciliatory.
Israel’s retaliation for the nearly 200 Iranian missiles fired at Israel on October 1 has been widely expected for weeks.
Tehran said the attack was in retaliation for the killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Iran in July. Many missiles were fired by Israel and its allies but a small number hit central and southern Israel.
Iranian authorities said sites in the provinces of Tehran, Khuzestan and Ilam were attacked. The military said the attack was successfully repelled, although there was “minor damage” in some areas.
Following the Israeli strikes, Iranian state media carried images showing traffic jams in several cities, while school and sports events were reported to have gone ahead as planned.
The Israeli military announced Saturday’s operation shortly after the explosion was reported in Iran. IDF spokesman Adm. Daniel Hagari said the soldiers showed readiness to “defend the state of Israel”.
He also warned that if Iran starts a new round of escalation, Israel will be “forced to respond”.
The US and Britain have both urged Iran not to retaliate following recent strikes, as President Joe Biden’s administration calls for an end to violence.
Senior US administration officials said the US was informed of the Israeli strikes in advance, and that Washington was not involved in them.
The attack did not involve Iran’s oil infrastructure or nuclear facilities — targets the Biden administration has urged Israel not to target — the official said.
The official said the US had urged Israel for weeks to make a response that was “targeted and proportionate to the minimum risk of civilian casualties” and suggested that “that is exactly what happened” on Saturday evening.
UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said Israel had the right to defend itself against “Iranian flesh” and backed calls for Iran to refrain from retaliation, saying the UK would work to “de-escalate the situation across the region”.
But Russia and other countries in the region, including US rivals Jordan and Saudi Arabia, have accused Israel of fueling the conflict.
Qatar expressed “deep concern over the serious consequences that could result from this escalation”, while Jordan described the attack as a “dangerous escalation”.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said “what is needed is to stop provoking Iran to retaliate, and get out of this sphere of uncontrolled expansion”.
The number of Israeli strikes and their specific targets were not clear Saturday morning.
Aviation authorities in Iran briefly grounded flights but announced they would resume from 09:00 local time (06:30 BST).
Hooman, a 42-year-old factory worker, was working in Tehran when he heard the blast, he told AFP.
“There was a reverberating sound… terrible and terrifying,” the agency quoted him as saying. “Since there is a war in the Middle East, we are afraid that we will be drawn into it.”
Israeli airstrikes have also targeted areas in central and southern Syria, Syrian state media reported.
Following the Israeli strikes, Hezbollah fired 80 bombs across the border into Israel on Saturday afternoon, according to the IDF.
Later, the AFP news agency reported that the Iran-backed group fired a series of rockets at five settlements in northern Israel, including the suburbs of Krayot near Haifa.
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