The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) launched three waves of “precise” strikes on Iranian military targets, in what Tel Aviv said was in "response" to Tehran’s attacks on the Jewish state in early October.
According to the IDF, the attack on Iran has ended and Israeli warplanes have returned home after striking military targets, namely missile manufacturing facilities, surface-to-air missile arrays, and air defense systems.
The targets included Iran’s air defense batteries and ballistic missile manufacturing sites, the IDF said. Over 100 warplanes, including the fifth-generation F-35s, were reportedly involved in the attack. Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was in a bunker in Tel Aviv’s Kirya military base during the attacks, per the PM’s office.
White House and Pentagon officials have "consulted closely with Israel in recent days about the scope and type of targets Israel would launch against Iran," the New York Times reported. The US, however, was not involved in the strikes, White House National Security Council spokesperson, Sean Savett, said in a statement.
It was the first time that Israel has claimed responsibility for an attack on Iran, in an operation code-named "Days of Repentance," according to Axios.
Iranian media in turn maintained that its air defenses had successfully shot down Israeli targets in the airspace around Tehran province, adding that the IDF attacks also caused "limited damage" in Ilam and Khuzestan provinces.
The Syrian Defense Ministry said that the country’s air defense systems had downed several Israeli missiles that targeted Syria’s central and southern areas.
State news agency IRNA reported that the situation in the Iranian capital, Tehran, remained normal despite the explosions that were heard west of the city.
The military centers of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps located in the west and southwest of the Iranian capital were reportedly not damaged.
Iran is ready to respond to Israel over the missile strikes, a high-ranking source told the Tasnim state news agency. There is “no doubt” Israel will “receive a proportionate response to any action", the source pointed out.