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The spokesman for the Israel Defense Forces acknowledged that “it was late” when announcing to Israeli citizens that this Saturday the country’s long-awaited retaliation against Iran for the attacks launched on October 1 would begin. It was after midnight (2 a.m. local time) and the first explosions were heard in Tehran. Shortly afterward came a statement signed by Daniel Hagari: “The IDF is now attacking military targets in Iran.”

“This is in response to the Iranian regime’s continued attacks against the State of Israel in recent months.“, the Israeli spokesperson began explaining. “The Iranian regime and its proxies in the region have relentlessly attacked Israel since October 7 – on seven fronts – including direct attacks from Iranian soil. Like any other sovereign country in the world, the State of Israel has the right and duty to respond“, he highlighted.

In response to months of continued attacks by the Iranian regime against the State of Israel, the Israel Defense Forces are currently carrying out precise strikes against military targets in Iran.

The Iranian regime and its proxies in the region have been relentlessly attacking… pic.twitter.com/1WpQR6itIo

— דובר צה״ל דניאל הגרי – Daniel Hagari (@IDFSpokesperson) October 25, 2024

In response to what Israel describes as “precise attacks,” Iran stressed that it “reserves the right to respond to acts of aggression,” an Iranian source told the Tasnim news agency. Repeating statements that several Iranian voices have already made on other occasions, the same source added that “there is no doubt” that Tehran will respond in an “appropriate, tough, proportional and well-calculated” way.

A late attack on Iranian military targets

For now, little is known about the Israeli offensive. The New York Times journalist in Jerusalem quoted two Israeli officials as saying that, during the three hours of the attack, 20 targets were hit. The operation was carried out in three waves: the first focused on Iranian air defense systems, while the next two targeted drone and missile bases and weapons production complexes, US and Israeli officials detailed to Axios.

Initially, several Iranian journalists, cited by the New York Times, described five explosions in the direction of Tehran and Karaj, a city west of the capital. Subsequent reports from Tehran residents to Al Jazeera already spoke of at least seven explosions. Tehran’s response was swift and, according to Iranian journalist Reza Rashidpour, Air Force planes quickly took off from a base in the west of the country. Iranian intelligence officials admitted on state television that some of the subsequent explosions could even “have been caused by the activation of air defense systems.”

Among the targets of the Tel Aviv attack were military bases of the Revolutionary Guard in western Iran, according to the Fars news agency, which is aligned with the Iranian armed forces group. Haaretz has assured that there are no signs that nuclear or oil complexes have been attacked.

Information that is consistent with information collected by CNN about retaliation. Early in the morning, the channel indicated that the attacks would only be directed at military infrastructure, a request that came from the North American president, Joe Biden. An Israeli official also confirmed to NBC that Israel was focused on military targets: “We are targeting things that may have threatened us in the past or may do so in the future.

On Thursday, the Washington Post identified four bases that it classified as “probable military targets” for Israel. The infrastructures, all located in the west and southwest of the country, are Tabriz, Bakhtaran, Iman and Bandar Abbas, he stated.

The attack against Iran was ordered from the Air Force military campus in Kirya, in the city of Tel Aviv. It was coordinated by IDF Commander Herzi Halevi and Air Force Commander Tomer Bar. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his Defense Minister Yoav Gallant were also present in Kirya.

Chief of the General Staff, LTG Herzi Halevi, and Commander in Chief of the Israeli Air Force, Maj. Gen. Tomer Bar, from the Israeli Air Force underground command center at Camp Rabin (The Kirya) during the attacks on Iran. pic.twitter.com/PY01vTowri

—Joe Truzman (@JoeTruzman) October 26, 2024

בתקיפה באיראן משתתפים עשרות מטוסי קרב, מתדלקים, מטוסי מודיעין, , ו ל איראן מרחק של כ- 1500 ק”מ חרונים תרגילים וסימולציות לתקיפה ארוכת ט. ווח, טיסה עם מספר מבנים, ר בדרך ליעד המטוסים עוברים תדלוק אווירי יר על פי התרגולת, על המטוסים… pic.twitter.com/p2eqWcMNjb

— איתי בלומנטל ???????? Itay Blumental (@ItayBlumental) October 26, 2024

During the early hours of Saturday, news also arrived about explosions in central and southern Syria. According to the national state agency (SANA), Syrian air defenses shot down some of the Israeli missiles, but the full damage from the IDF attack is still being assessed.

The US was informed of the Israeli offensive minutes before advancing

Minutes before the offensive, the United States of America (USA) was warned by Israel that retaliation was imminent, information that was reported by Fox News. Washington, however, is not involved in the attacks, a senior US administration source told CNN.

The first official US reaction came from the spokesperson for the US National Security Council. “We know that Israel is carrying out targeted strikes against military targets in Iran as a self-defense exercise and in response to Iran’s ballistic missile attack on Israel on October 1,” said a statement from spokesman Sean Savett. Washington sent additional clarifications to the Israeli government.

From retaliation to retaliation, what motivated the Israeli attack on Iran

Israel announced that Friday’s dawn operations were in retaliation for the Iranian attacks on October 1. That day, Iran launched around 200 ballistic missiles and Israeli authorities guaranteed that most of them were intercepted. This is Tehran’s second offensive against Israeli territory, after a first attack in April, in which almost 300 missiles were launched.

The Israel Defense Forces said several air force bases were damaged, but no aircraft were damaged. “Only administrative buildings and peripheral components were hit,” the army said, adding that damage to civilian areas was “minor” and was probably due to shrapnel from the intercepted missiles.

Photo gallery. Tehran’s attack on Israel was celebrated in the streets of Iran, Lebanon and the West Bank

At the time, Iran described its actions as retaliation for Israeli strikes that, in July, led to the death of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran and, in September, the death of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah. in Beirut.

Within 24 hours there was already talk of possible Israeli retaliation and the American president expressed his opposition to possible attacks on the Iranian nuclear infrastructure. On October 2, senior officials in Joe Biden’s administration said they were in talks with Israel about its response, but the leader himself noted that he could only “advise Israel.”

More recently, on October 18, Biden said he believed in an opportunity to “deal with Israel and Iran” in a way that would end the conflict, at least for a time. With Friday’s attack, it doesn’t look like that’s possible.