Three waves of pre-dawn strikes on military targets in Iran carried out by the Israel Defense Forces on Saturday completed Israel’s response to Iran, in a hostile exchange between the two regional powers that has had the world on edge for weeks, fearing a dangerous expansion of the war.
The IDF said it hit aerial defense systems and missile manufacturing facilities in Iran, avoiding nuclear and oil facilities in what appeared to be a limited attack aimed at deterrence by showing its military might, while avoiding a major escalation.
In a briefing following the attacks, a senior official of the Biden administration told reporters that “This should be the end of the direct military exchange between Israel and Iran.”
The official said this is the “very strong view” of the U.S. and “it’s been communicated to our partners throughout the region.”
Iran’s foreign ministry condemned the attack in a statement on Saturday, asserting Iran’s “inherent right to self-defense,” but added that the country will uphold its “responsibilities for regional peace and stability,” making no mention of imminent retaliation.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said in July that Iran does not seek a wider war in the Middle East and that such a conflict would have no winners, something Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi echoed last week, saying “if a major war breaks out in the region, America will be dragged into it, which is something we do not want.”
Earlier in October, however, Pezeshkian threatened “harsher reactions” if Israel acts against Tehran.
The Iranian army said two soldiers were killed in the attacks, without adding further details. It also said the strikes targeted military centers in the provinces of Tehran, Khuzestan and Ilam, but downplayed the attack, saying “damage was limited,” and that its defense forces “successfully intercepted” the strike.
Iran’s state media reported several explosions that could be heard from the capital, Tehran, and video footage verified by NBC News showed Iran’s air defense forces appearing to engage with Israeli projectiles. The capital itself was not directly hit.
The IDF said the strikes were in response to “months of continuous attacks” from Iran and its allies in the region, the latest in a tit-for-tat cycle of response and retaliation that has been going on for months.
On Oct. 1, Iran fired a barrage of missiles at Israel which it said it was a retaliation for Israel’s assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran in July, as well as the killing of Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut in September, alongside a senior commander of the Iranian revolutionary guard. That barrage caused little damage to the country.
The assassinations aimed to weaken the Iran-backed Hamas and Hezbollah, with whom Israel has been engaged in heavy warfare in Gaza and Lebanon since October 2023.
They came after a tense exchange between Israel and Iran in April, that began when Israel bombed an Iranian consular compound in the Syrian capital, Damascus, killing commanders and advisers of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Iran responded to that attack with a drone and missile barrage on Israel that was at the time unprecedented. Israel retaliated with a limited strike on Iran which caused little damage.
Iran and Israel have been engaged in a shadow war for decades, that prior to last year has mostly been fought with covert attacks or via Iran’s proxies, which include Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis in Yemen and forces in Syria and Iraq.
U.S. defense officials told NBC News that Israel had told their American counterparts about Saturday’s strikes ahead of time, but that the U.S. was not involved in the attack.
While Iran had previously promised to retaliate to any form of Israeli aggression, some believe the apparently limited nature of Israel’s attack could potentially serve as an end to direct conflict between the two nations.
Michael Milshtein, head of the Palestinian Studies Forum of Tel Aviv University Dayan Center at, told NBC News on Saturday that Israel has given Iran a reason “not to respond” in a way that escalates tensions further, adding that Israel has already shown its air defenses can handle an attack, while the presence of American troops would also serve as a deterrence.
“It seems right now, at least, they have more reason not to respond in a very tough manner,” he said, before expressing caution that it was too early to tell the full extent of Israel’s strikes.
Yossi Mekelberg, a senior consulting fellow with Chatham House’s Middle East and North Africa Program, echoed Milshtein’s cautious optimism.
“The fact that Iran is downplaying the attack and what’s been hit is good news,” he told NBC News on the phone. “By them being dismissive about the damage, it gives them space to say ‘that’s done, scores are settled.’”
Mekelberg added that the end of any direct conflict with Iran, alongside the killings of leaders in the Iran-backed Hamas and Hezbollah militant groups, could create space to move from military action “to the diplomatic, political sphere.”
“Whether Israel and Iran will think like this is a different matter,” he added.
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