DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Israel launched airstrikes early Saturday on what it described as military targets in Iran. retaliation against ballistic missile Authorities said the attack took place on October 1. There is no information yet regarding the damage in the Islamic Republic.

The attack, which Israel had been threatening for weeks, came as the Middle East was on the brink of a regional war more than a year later. First attack by militant group Hamas About Israel. Since then, Israel has launched a devastating ground offensive in the Gaza Strip and invaded neighboring Lebanon, targeting militants armed with long weapons and backed by Tehran.

The Israeli military on Saturday described the attack as “precise attacks on military targets in Iran” without immediately elaborating.

“The regime in Iran and its proxies in the region have been relentlessly attacking Israel since October 7, including direct attacks from Iranian territory,” the Israeli military statement said. “The State of Israel, like other sovereign countries in the world, has the right and duty to respond.”

Explosions could be heard in Tehran, the capital of Iran; State media initially acknowledged the explosions and said some of the sounds came from air defense systems in the city.

A Tehran resident told The Associated Press that at least seven explosions were heard and shook the surrounding area. The resident spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation.

Flight tracking data showed that international flights began to change direction over western Iran as news of the attack arrived.

Meanwhile, state media in Syria announced that air defense systems also targeted “enemy targets” there.

Iran has launched two ballistic missile attacks on Israel in recent months, amid the Israel-Hamas war that started with Hamas’ attack on Israel on October 7, 2023 and continues in the Gaza Strip. Approximately 1,200 people died and 250 were killed in the first attack. We returned the hostage to the coastal residential area.

More than 42,000 Palestinians have since been killed in Gaza, according to local health officials, who do not distinguish between civilians and combatants. Hundreds more people have since been killed in Israeli military operations in the West Bank.

Israel also launched a ground invasion of Lebanon and a series of punitive air strikes that shook the country.

The strike took place Saturday as U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken returned to the United States after a trip to the Middle East, where he and other U.S. officials warned Israel of a response that would not further escalate or exclude conflict in the region. Nuclear facilities in Iran.

“We understand that Israel is conducting targeted attacks against military targets in Iran,” White House National Security Council spokesman Sean Savett said in a statement, directing reporters to the Israeli government for more details about the operation.

Two US officials said the US was informed by Israel before the attacks. They said that there was no US involvement in the operation. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing operation.

Israel promised to hit Iran hard Iran’s massive missile bombardment October 1. Iran says volley was in response to deadly Israeli strikes Attacks on his proxies in Lebanon, Hezbollah has promised to respond to any retaliatory attack.

Israel and Iran have been bitter enemies since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Israel sees Iran as the biggest threat, citing its leaders’ calls for Israel’s destruction, their support for anti-Israel militant groups, and the country’s nuclear program.

Israel and Iran have been locked in a shadow war that has been going on for years. Senior Iranian nuclear scientists have been killed in a suspected Israeli assassination campaign. Iran’s nuclear facilities were hacked or sabotaged; These were all mysterious attacks for which Israel was blamed. Iran, meanwhile, has been blamed for a series of attacks on shipping in the Middle East in recent years, which later escalated into attacks by Houthi rebels in Yemen on shipping via the Red Sea corridor.

But since Hamas’s attack on October 7, the conflict has become increasingly exposed. Israel has recently turned its attention to Hezbollah, which has since fired rockets at Israel. war in Gaza to start. During the year, several senior Iranian military figures were killed in Israeli strikes in Syria and Lebanon.

Iran fired a wave of missiles and drones at Israel last April after two Iranian generals were killed in an Israeli airstrike on an Iranian diplomatic post in Syria. The missiles and drones caused minimal damage, and Israel, under pressure from Western countries to show restraint, responded with a limited attack.

But after Iran’s missile attack in early October, Israel promised a tougher response.

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