Explosions have been heard across Tehran as the Israeli military announced they have launched retaliatory strikes in the region.
IDF forces say it is conducting ‘precise strikes’ on military targets in Iran in response to what it called ‘the continuous attacks from the regime in Iran against Israel’.
There have been reports of at least seven explosions that have rocked the city of Tehran, as well as loud blasts heard in the Damascus countryside and central region.
The Middle East has been on edge in anticipation of Israeli retaliation for Iran’s attack on October 1, in which around 200 ballistic missiles were fired at Israel, Iran’s second direct attack on Israel in six months.
An Israeli military statement said that Israel ‘has the right and the duty to respond’, although it did not elaborate on targets.
Adding: ‘The regime in Iran and its proxies in the region have been relentlessly attacking Israel since Oct. 7 – on seven fronts – including direct attacks from Iranian soil.’
Witnesses in Tehran confirmed hearing loud explosions said: ‘It was so loud and the sky became red,’ said an Iranian resident in Tehran, who asked not to be named.
Israel’s News 12 channel has reported that the ‘second wave’ of Israel’s attack on Iran has started, citing explosions in Iran’s south-central Shiraz city.
The news channel gave no further details and there was no official confirmation
An Israeli military statement said that Israel ‘has the right and the duty to respond’, although it did not elaborate on targets
The Isreali Prime Minister’s Office has released an image of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and military officials at the IDF’s underground HQ amid the strikes on Iran
The Israeli military said it had ‘fully mobilised’ its offensive and defensive capabilities as it carried out strikes on military targets in Iran, as military spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, in a separate statement, called on the people to be ‘alert and vigilant’.
Iranian authorities have warned Israel against launching an attack, saying any strike on Iran would be met with a stronger retaliation.
As its media reported that the several ‘loud explosions’ that were heard were related to the country’s air defense systems.
As Tasmin, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) news agency, claimed that ‘no strike has happened against IRGC military centres in the west or southwest of Tehran so far’.
Targets did not include energy infrastructure or nuclear facilities, NBC News and ABC News reported, citing an Israeli official.
U.S. President Joe Biden had warned that Washington, Israel’s main backer and supplier of arms, would not support a strike on Tehran’s nuclear sites and has said Israel should consider alternatives to attacking Iran’s oil fields.
The semi-official Iranian Fars news agency said several military bases in the west and southwest of Tehran had been targeted by Israel.
According to Fox News, the White House was notified shortly before Israel conducted the strikes, however officials have said the US was not involved in the operation.
The strike happened just as U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken was arriving back in the U.S. after a tour of the Middle East where he and other U.S. officials had warned Israel to tender a response that would not further escalate the conflict in the region and exclude nuclear sites in Iran.
White House National Security Council spokesman Sean Savett said in a statement that ‘we understand that Israel is conducting targeted strikes against military targets in Iran in an an exercise of self-defense’ following Tehran’s ballistic missile attack earlier this month.
President Joe Biden is currently in Wilmington, Delaware, and his advisers are currently not planning to convene in the Situation Room.
While Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant were at the military headquarters in Tel Aviv, Netanyahu’s office said.
Your browser does not support iframes.
Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps troops march in a military parade commemorating the anniversary of the Iran-Iraq War
A missile is launched during a military exercise in an undisclosed location in the south of Iran, in this handout image obtained on January 19, 2024
This comes as state news agency SANA reported that Syrian air defences intercepted ‘hostile targets’ near Damascus, as Israel said it was launching strikes in Iran.
‘Our anti-aircraft defense is confronting hostile targets in the skies around Damascus,’ SANA said on Telegram after reporting ‘sounds of explosions’ in the vicinity of the Syrian capital.
International flights began diverting around western Iran as news of the strikes broke, flight-tracking data showed.
As Iran announces it has closed its airspace until 8:30am Israel time – for more than four hours – according to reports.
Iranian officials, under condition of anonymity, told the New York Times that Iranian supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has told his armed forces to prepare several responses to be implemented depending on the severity of Israel’s strike.
Widespread damage and a high number of casualties could provoke a sharp reaction from Tehran, the officials said, adding there may be no response if the attack is limited to military compounds.
Focus has fallen on the various oil refineries and nuclear sites of economic and strategic value to Iran in the wake of its blistering assault on Israel earlier this month. Israel was said to assured allies in the US it would steer clear of valuable sites.
Earlier this month Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, assured the United States that a counterstrike on Iran will be limited to military targets rather than oil or nuclear facilities, according to a person familiar with the discussions.
Officials said a major attack could trigger a response with as many as 1,000 ballistic missiles – fivefold the number used earlier this month in what was its largest attack on Israel in its history.
The Ayatollah has allegedly ordered that such a heavy response should be carried out if Iran hits energy infrastructure or nuclear facilities, or assassinates senior officials, the officials said.
Israel have killed Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah (pictured in 2015) in strikes on Beirut
Israel released a graphic showing the Hezbollah senior figures who had so far been ‘eliminated’ – adding that they had ‘dismantled’ the group
Flames rise after an Israeli airstrike in the southern suburbs of Beirut, Lebanonon Sept 28
On October 1 Iran launched 200 ballistic missiles at Israel, it was Iran’s second such attack on Israel this year, after it launched about 300 missiles and drones in April.
While many of the missiles were shot down, dozens managed to strike the Nevatim airbase, demonstrating that Iran could at least partially penetrate Israel’s sophisticated air defence systems at some of the country’s most highly protected sites.
Iran claimed they were in response to an Israeli attack that killed IRGC operations commander Brig-Gen Abbas Nilforoushan and Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in Lebanon, according to Iran.
Iran has maintained that it does not seek escalation, but has sent out persistent warnings to Israel that it will ‘not last long’ as it presses on with operations in Lebanon and Gaza.
Israel’s Iron Dome anti-missile system intercepts rockets, as seen from Ashkelon, Israel on Oct. 1
People take cover on the side of a road as a siren sounds a warning of incoming missiles on Oct 1
Iranian launched projectiles being intercepted by Israel above Jerusalem on October 1
And as the region appears to be on the brink of war, the Israeli military boasted that the decapitation of Hezbollah was ‘not the end of our toolbox’ and gloated that they can ‘reach’ anyone who threatens them.
In a brazen taunt to the countries surrounding them, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) then shared a diagram of the Hezbollah chain of command, where each leader had been marked up as ‘Eliminated’.
On top of this, three days ago Israel killed Hashem Safieddine, the alleged ‘next leader’ of Hezollah in a blitz of his bunker.
Safieddine was a powerful cleric within the Hezbollah ranks and was anticipated to succeed Hassan Nasrallah.
About 25 other Hezbollah leaders were also reportedly killed during the airstrike.