Israeli military says it has bombed targets near Iranian capital
Syrian military bases also bombed, according to Syria’s state media
PHOTO: Reuters
EXPLOSIONS were heard in the Iranian capital and neighbouring Karaj city as the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) announced they had carried out “precise strikes on military targets in Iran” in retaliation for attacks carried out by Iran and its proxies on the Jewish state earlier this month, Al Jazeera has reported.
In a statement declaring that an operation was under way, IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari claimed Israel had the “right and duty” to respond and that its defensive and offensive capabilities had fully been mobilised.
IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari | PHOTO: X user
Iranian state media confirmed that explosions had been heard in the west of Tehran.
Sources privy to the development said that some military bases in the west and south-west of the Iranian capital had been targeted. For its part, Syrian state media reported that Israel had targeted some military sites in central and southern areas of Syria.
The initial strike targeted a barracks or office and a weapons depot near Tehran, NBC News quoted two senior Arab officials as saying.
The Israeli strike comes in retaliation to the Oct 1 Iranian attack in which Iran had unleashed about 200 ballistic missiles on the Jewish state, and a majority of the projectiles had hit their targets after penetrating the defences.
A US security official claimed there was no US involvement in the Israeli attack, but he stated that “Washington had been informed of the operation beforehand”, BBC said.
The Israeli attack comes on the heels of US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s visit to the Middle East during which he attempted to get a ceasefire between Hamas and Israel finalised, but to no avail. Fears of a wider war have been heightened after Iran launched its first direct attack on Israel in mid-April this year. That attack had come in response to an Israeli strike on Iranian properties in Damascus.
Tensions have risen after Israel began bombing neighbouring Lebanon over a conflict with Iran-backed Lebanese militia Hezbollah. Previously, Israel had launched a ground campaign into Hezbollah’s heartland – the southern parts of Lebanon.