Strikes on Iran suggest Israel may have heeded US warnings
Israel’s assault on Iran has been expected since Iran fired nearly 200 ballistic missiles at Israel almost a month ago.
On Saturday, Israel’s military spokesman announced the operation was underway, asserting that Israel had the “right and duty” to respond, with both its defensive and offensive capabilities fully mobilized.
Iranian state media reported that explosions were heard in the western part of Tehran, but there is still no clear information about the specific targets or whether they have been successfully struck by Israel.
News outlets linked to Iran’s Revolutionary Guards indicate that several military bases in the western and southwestern regions of Tehran have been hit.
Additionally, the Syrian state news agency reported that Israeli airstrikes targeted military sites in central and southern Syria.
The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shared a photo of him in the military operations center during the attack.
For now, Iranian media appears to be downplaying the impact of the strikes. The full extent of the situation is likely to emerge gradually from Iranian authorities.
Israel may be quicker to release details of its attack, although this could depend on whether it intends to launch further strikes.
The Pentagon has given a briefing that the US was made aware of Israel’s plans beforehand and that there was no US involvement in the operation.
That’s significant in Washington’s efforts to try to prevent the conflict between Israel and Iran from escalating into a confrontation that could move ever closer to all-out war.
The US will also be waiting for the dust to settle to see if Israel’s targets were limited to military targets or went beyond that to include facilities linked to Iran’s nuclear programme – which could trigger another major response from Tehran.
For now – on the scant available evidence – Israel may have heeded Washington’s warnings and reined in some of its more ambitious plans to cause maximum pain to the Iranian authorities.
