Israel attacks Iran: Mullahs threaten to counterattack

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Lerato Khumalo

Explosions in Tehran

Israel attacks Iran: Mullahs threaten to counterattack


Updated 10/26/2024 – 7:58 a.mReading time: 4 minutes

Enlarge the imageBenjamin Netanyahu (3rd from left) discusses the situation after an attack on Iran with Defense Minister Joav Galant (next to him) and the Israeli military leadership. (Source: Israeli Prime Minister’s Office)

Israel attacked Iran. There have been several loud explosions in Tehran.

Israel launched an attack on Iran in the early hours of Saturday morning. It was in retaliation for a massive Iranian missile attack on October 1st. According to Israeli army spokesman Daniel Hagari, the attack targeted Iranian missile factories.

Photos were shared on the X platform that are said to show fires in the Iranian capital. A total of 20 targets are said to have been attacked, reports the US portal Axios, citing insiders.

Iran initially downplayed the attacks, but according to the domestic news agency Tasnim, it reserves the right to respond to Israel’s attack on military targets in Iran. Iran is prepared for this, the agency reports, citing insiders. At around 5 a.m. German time, Israel announced the end of the attacks.

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Shortly before, there had been reports of further Israeli attacks on Tehran. Iranian air defenses were activated. Eyewitnesses from the city center reported a loud, sustained explosion.

The Fars news agency, which is close to the regime in Iran, spoke of military bases that were said to have been the target of the attack. After the Israeli air strikes, Iranian media reported the first damage to military bases. As the Tasnim news agency reported, air defense was activated in the capital Tehran and the provinces of Khuzestan and Ilam, among others.

The Iranian state news agency IRNA initially reported that Imam Khomeini International Airport had been operational again since around 6 a.m. (local time) and that the Civil Aviation Authority had not issued an order to cancel flights. The airspace over Iran was then temporarily closed in the early hours of the morning.

Israel said it had attacked facilities producing missiles that Iran fired at the state of Israel last year. The mission was successful. “Our aircraft returned home safely,” it said in a statement. At the same time, military spokesman Hagari warned: “If the regime in Iran makes the mistake of initiating a new round of escalation, we are obliged to respond.”

According to US broadcaster NBC, Israel has not targeted any of Iran’s nuclear facilities or oil fields. A few days ago, US President Joe Biden warned against attacking such systems. So far, no fire has been reported in a refinery.

The Israeli Chief of General Staff, Herzi Halevi, leads the attack on Iran with the commander of the Israeli Air Force, Major General Tomer Bar.Enlarge the image
The Israeli Chief of General Staff, Herzi Halevi, leads the attack on Iran with the commander of the Israeli Air Force, Major General Tomer Bar. (Source: IDF)

The Israeli military justified the attacks shortly afterwards. “In response to months of ongoing attacks by the Iranian regime against the State of Israel, the Israeli Defense Forces are currently conducting precision strikes on military targets in Iran,” the army said in a statement. The Iranian regime and its proxies in the region have been relentlessly attacking Israel since October 7, the Israeli military said.

“We will do everything necessary to defend the State of Israel and the Israeli people,” said military spokesman Daniel Hagari. “Our defensive and offensive capacities are fully mobilized.” The Israeli cabinet had previously given its approval in a conference call, CNN reports.

According to a report in the New York Times, the USA was informed about the plan shortly before the attack. There had been several conversations between Benjamin Netanyahu and Joe Biden in the previous days, a US official told CNN. US President Joe Biden has been briefed by his team of security advisors about Israel’s attacks on Iran. Biden is continuing to monitor the situation, journalists traveling with Biden reported. The US President is at his home in the state of Delaware.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was in a bunker at the Kirya military base in Tel Aviv during the attack in Iran, along with Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and other military officials, according to his office.