By Kayode Sanni-Arewa
Israel announced the launch of “precise strikes” on military targets in Iran on Saturday in retaliation for Iranian missile attacks, as an AFP journalist in Tehran reported hearing several explosions.
In response to months of continuous attacks from the regime in Iran against the State of Israel –- right now the Israel Defense Forces (Israeli military) is conducting precise strikes on military targets in Iran,” the military said in a statement.
Israel had vowed to hit back at Iran following its October 1 missile attack, with Defence Minister Yoav Gallant saying the response would be “deadly, precise and surprising”.
Iran has said the strikes targeted military bases in Ilam, Khuzestan and Tehran provinces, causing “limited damage”.
The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said its aircraft hit facilities that made the missiles which were fired at Israel, and also struck surface-to-air missile sites.
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 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.
“These missiles posed a direct and immediate threat to the citizens of the State of Israel.
Israel has been fighting Iran-backed Hamas in Gaza since the deadliest attack in its history on October 7, 2023, which killed 1,206 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of official Israeli figures.
It has since broadened the scope of its operations to Lebanon, vowing to secure its northern border after nearly a year of attacks launched by Iran-backed Hezbollah in support of Hamas.
“Our defensive and offensive capabilities are fully mobilised,” the Israeli military said in a statement.
Military spokesman Daniel Hagari in a separate statement urged people to be “alert and vigilant”.