Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and senior military commanders, October 26, 2024

UPDATE 0924 GMT:

Iran’s Supreme Leader has implicitly acknowledged damage from Israeli airstrikes, conducted from Iraqi and Syrian airspace, on Iranian military sites.

“The evil committed by the Zionist regime two nights ago should neither be downplayed nor exaggerated,” Ayatollah Khamenei said. “It would be wrong for us to say that it was nothing and it did not matter.”

Describing the Israeli airstrikes as “malignant”, he declared:

The calculation error of the Zionist regime must be disrupted. They do not know Iran, its youth, its nation. They have not yet been able to fully comprehend the power, capabilities, initiative and will of the Iranian nation, we must make them understand it.

President Masoud Pezeshkian posted on Twitter, “Iran’s enemies should know that the warrior nation stands fearlessly in defense of its soil and responds to any act of folly with prudence and intelligence.”

Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf pledged, “The response to this act of aggression will be definite and calculated.”

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UPDATE, OCT 27:

Israel’s strikes on Iran destroyed air-defense systems protecting critical oil and petrochemical refineries, a large gas field, and a major port in southern Iran, according to “three Iranian officials and three senior Israeli defense officials” speaking to the New York Times.

The sites targeted by Israel included defenses at Bandar Imam Khomeini petrochemical complex in Khuzestan Province; the Bandar Imam Khomeini port, adjacent to it; and the Abadan oil refinery. Air-defense systems were also struck in Ilam Province at the refinery for the Tange Bijar gas field, said the officials, one of whom is in Iran’s Oil Ministry.

The Iranian officials confirmed that the Israeli destruction of the air defense systems has caused “deep alarm”, with critical energy and economic hubs vulnerable to future attacks. They said the Israelis had effectively taken out four S-300 air-defense systems that Iran had purchased from Russia. One was disabled in Isfahan Province in April and three on Saturday, at Tehran’s Imam Khomeini International Airport and the Malad missile base on the capital’s outskirts.

“Israel is sending a clear message to us,” said Hamid Hosseini, an oil and gas expert in the Iran-Iraq Chamber of Commerce. “This can have very serious economic consequences for Iran, and now that we understand the stakes we need to act wise and not continue the tensions.”

Israel also attacked three major missile manufacturing bases at Falagh, Shaid Ghadiri and Abdol Fath. The Parchin and Parand military sites were targeted with drones.

Israeli officials said they hit 12 “planetary mixers”, purchased from China, which produce solid fuel for long-range ballistic missiles. They assessed that remanufacturing the mixers could take at least a year.

A senior US official confirmed that the strike had crippled Iran’s missile production capability.

The Iranian Armed Forces maintained on Saturday that Israel caused “minor damage” in attacks on radar air defense systems in Khuzestan, Ilam, and Tehran. They said repairs were underway, and air defenses had neutralized most of the Israeli missile and drones.

The Iranian officials who spoke with The New York Times said Iran’s Supreme National Security Council held an emergency meeting on Saturday, with military commanders briefing members on the scale of damage and the targets. The Council discussed how Iran should respond but no decision has been made.

UPDATE 1843 GMT:

US President Joe Biden says he hopes the Israeli strikes on Iran overnight are “the end”.

Biden said it appeared that Israel only struck military targets.

UN Secretary General António Guterres said he is “deeply alarmed”: “All acts of escalation are condemnable and must stop.”

He reiterated an appeal to all parties to cease military actions, including in Gaza and Lebanon, to exert maximum efforts to prevent an all-out regional war, and to return to the path of diplomacy.

UPDATE 1836 GMT:

In a call with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi, Qatar’s Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani expressed his country’s “grave concern” over the possible consequences of Israeli strikes on Iran.

UPDATE 1829 GMT:

The Iranian military says four troops were killed in the early-morning Israeli airstrikes.

“Two more soldiers… have succumbed to their wounds and died,” the army said in a statement.

UPDATE 1301 GMT:

France’s Foreign Ministry has urged Israel to “refrain from any escalation or action likely to aggravate the context of extreme tension”.

In contrast, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz directed his message to Iran: “We cannot continue with massive reactions of escalation, this must end now.”

Warning of an “explosive escalation”, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said, “We urge all parties involved to exercise restraint, stop the violence, and prevent events from developing into a catastrophic scenario.”

UPDATE 1153 GMT:

Among the sites targeted by Israel was the S-300 air defense of Imam Khomeini International Airport near Tehran, according to two Iranian officials.

At least three Revolutionary Guards missile bases were targeted, the officials — one of whom is in the Guards — said.

They said one missile hit the Parchin military base while others were downed.

In 2022, an engineer was killed and another employee injured in a drone attack on Parchin.

UPDATE 1149 GMT:

Noting Israel’s airstrikes on Iran, Egypt has expressed grave concerned over the escalation in the Middle East, condemning all measures that threaten regional security and stability.

Cairo reiterated its call for a “quick ceasefire” in Gaza and an end to military operations in Lebanon.

UPDATE 1004 GMT:

Citing anonymous sources, Sky News Arabia says Iran has informed Israel through a foreign mediator that it will not respond to overnight strikes.

Tehran’s Foreign Ministry, citing Article 51 of the UN Charter, maintained, “Iran has the right and the duty to defend itself against foreign acts of aggression.”

UPDATE 0955 GMT:

Trying to project calm, Iran State outlet Press TV shows people in Tehran’s Laleh Park doing their regular morning exercises following Israel’s airstrikes:

UPDATE 0930 GMT:

Iranian media report two soldiers were killed in Israel’s overnight strikes.

There are no further details, including location.

The Iranian Air Defense Corps asked “the people to maintain solidarity and peace”, while claiming that Israeli strikes on military centers in the provinces of Tehran, Khuzestan, and Ilam had been mostly intercepted with limited damage sustained in some areas.

UPDATE 0923 GMT:

Claimed footage of damage in Shamsabad, south of Tehran:

UPDATE 0912 GMT:

The UAE has responded to Israel’s strikes on Iran:

The UAE strongly condemns the military targeting of the Islamic Republic of Iran and expresses deep concern over the continued escalation and its impact on regional security and stability.

The UAE emphasized the “importance of exercising the highest levels of restraint and wisdom to avoid risks and the expansion of conflict”.

Saudi Arabia took a similar line. The Foreign Ministry said the Israeli attack was “a violation of [Iran’s] sovereignty and a violation of international laws and norm”. It called for restraint and de-escalation from all parties, as expanding conflict in the Middle East “threatens the security and stability of the countries and people of the region”.

Hamas, facing Israel’s open-ended attacks on Gaza, posted:

[We] condemn in the strongest terms the Zionist aggression against the Islamic Republic of Iran, and the targeting of military sites in several provinces….

[This is] a blatant violation of Iranian sovereignty and an escalation that threatens the security of the region.

Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry declared, “Israel bears full responsibility for the current cycle of escalation and expansion of the conflict.”

In contrast, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said, “I am clear that Israel has the right to defend itself against Iranian aggression.”

He continued, “I’m equally clear that we need to avoid further regional escalation and urge all sides to show restraint. Iran should not respond.”

ORIGINAL ENTRY: Israel carried out airstrikes on Iran’s military sites early Saturday.

The Israel Defense Forces claimed “precise strikes” on drone and ballistic missile manufacturing and launch sites and on air defense batteries, retaliating for Iran’s firing of 181 ballistic missiles on Israel on October 1.

See also Are Iran’s Missiles on Israel Just Another “Demonstration” Attack?

The strikes were carried out in waves over several hours across Iran. Attacks were reported in the Tehran, Karaj, Isfahan, and Shiraz areas.

The Assad regime also reported several Israeli strikes in southern Syria, and Israel hit buildings in southern Beirut in Lebanon.

The IDF said at 6 a.m. local time that the “Days of Repentance” operations were completed with “all goals achieved” and every warplane returning safely home. Dozens of aircraft, including fighter jets, refuelers and spy planes were involved around 1,600 kilometers from Israel.

The military declared that the strikes gave the Israeli Air Force “wider freedom of aerial action in Iran”, with a range of targets in the future. The IDF said in a statement:

The regime in Iran and its proxies in the region have been relentlessly attacking Israel since October 7th –- on seven fronts –- including direct attacks from Iranian soil.

Like every other sovereign country in the world, the State of Israel has the right and the duty to respond.

How Extensive Are The Attacks?

While details are awaited, the extent of the strikes appears far greater than Israel’s limited response in April to Iran’s “demonstration” missile and drone attacks on Israeli territory.

Iran confirmed attacks on military sites in Tehran and other parts of the country, but claimed only “limited damage” with air defense systems countering much of the missiles.

“The loud blasts heard around Tehran were related to the activation of the air defense system against the actions of Zionist regime which attacked three locations outside of Tehran city,” Iranian State TV reported.

An Israeli official asserted that Iranian claims of knocking down missiles was “a lie”. He said air defenses were a “total failure” with “zero interceptions”.

There were no apparent attacks on Iran’s nuclear sites or oil facilities, following international pressure on Israel to avoid those targets.

See also EA on International Outlets: Explaining Israel’s “Demonstration” Strikes on Iran in April

Israel’s political leaders issued no comment. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office circulated a photograph of him with Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and generals at IDF headquarters in Tel Aviv. It said he held a security assessment with Gallant and the heads of the IDF and the intelligence services Mossad and Shin Bet.

In the US, White House National Security Council spokesperson Sean Savett said, “We understand that Israel is conducting targeted strikes against military targets in Iran as an exercise of self-defense and in response to Iran’s ballistic missile attack against Israel on October 1.”