Tehran: Israel claimed to have completed its ‘retaliatory strike’ on Iran launched on Saturday, targeting the country’s military, Israel Defense Forces(IDF) spokesperson, Daniel Hagari, told in a video message.
“I can now confirm that we have concluded the Israeli response to Iran’s attacks against Israel. We conducted targeted and precise strikes on military targets in Iran — thwarting immediate threats to the State of Israel,” he said, adding that Israel had achieved its objectives and its planes had safely returned to the country after striking the military targets in Iran.
Hagari claimed that they had targeted missile manufacturing facilities used by Iran in its alleged attacks on the state of Israel over the past year. Israeli targeted military bases in the provinces of Ilam, Khuzestan and Tehran, and had caused “limited damage”. The airstrikes involved dozens of Israeli aircraft, including fighter jets and refuelers, targeting military installations approximately 1,600 kilometers from Israel.
Israel had launched the airstrikes on Iran following Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s commitment to retaliate an alleged ballistic missile assault by the latter on Oct 1.
“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. Like every other sovereign country in the world, the State of Israel has the right and the duty to respond,” a statement from the Israeli Military read, as reported by the Hindustan Times.
“I can now confirm that we have concluded the Israeli response to Iran’s attacks against Israel. We conducted targeted and precise strikes on military targets in Iran — thwarting immediate threats to the State of Israel.”
Watch IDF Spokesperson RAdm. Daniel Hagari talk about the… pic.twitter.com/1OOss3etpV
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) October 26, 2024
Following the airstrikes on Saturday, Israel has also cautioned that if Iran carries out retaliatory strikes, the Israeli military will be “obligated to respond.”
What was Iran’s response to the airstrikes?
According to reports, Iran had claimed that its air defense system successfully countered Israel’s attacks with “limited damage” caused to some locations. Iranian state had previously stated that any strike on their country would be met with a stronger retaliation. Iran had claimed that its Oct 1 attack was in response to Israeli operations targeting Hezbollah in Lebanon, one of its key proxy groups. The US and Israel designates Hezbollah as a terrorist organization.
What did the US say?
The White House stated on Saturday that Israel’s recent strikes on Iranian military installations should effectively end the direct military exchanges between the two nations, reported the Indian Express.
Flight operations resume in Iran
Flight operations were resumed across Iran after a brief suspension due to the airstrikes, according to the country’s Civil Aviation Organization (CAO), reports stated.
“Flights will return to normal from 9:00 am (0530 GMT) on Saturday,” a CAO spokesperson had stated, as quoted by the official IRNA news agency.
Neither Imam Khomeini International Airport in Tehran nor other airports in the country suffered any damages or subjected to any attacks.
Iran resumes flights after brief suspension over Israeli strikeshttps://t.co/KeatsOfNTQ pic.twitter.com/LdOvqJ2lwC
— IRNA News Agency (@IrnaEnglish) October 26, 2024
