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IranThe Ministry of Foreign Affairs has stated that the country has the right to respond to this Israeli airstrikes that hit Iranian military targets on Saturday local time.
The ministry condemned the Israeli attacks “against a number of military sites in Iran as a flagrant violation of international law and United Nations charter,” and the statement added, “based on the inherent right of self-defense, as also reflected in Article 51 of the Charter of the United Nations, the Islamic Republic of Iran considers itself entitled and obligated to defend itself against acts of external aggression.”
Iranian media reported that two soldiers were killed in the Israeli attack. The first wave of airstrikes targeted Iran’s air defense system, and the second and third waves targeted missile and drone bases and weapons production sites, it said. Axios.
Israel’s airstrikes came in response to Iran’s Oct. 1 attack on Israel, in which the country fired about 180 ballistic missiles at the Jewish state. Most of these were intercepted, some by US forces in the region, but the attack threatened to kill hundreds of civilians.
Projectiles from Iran, intercepted by Israel, fly through the skies above Jerusalem on October 1, 2024. (Chen Junqing/Xinhua via Getty Images)
Some hawkish Israeli leaders hoped for a more significant response, including possibly pursuing Iran’s energy and/or oil infrastructure, while the prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu complied with US insistence on keeping their retaliation proportionate and not escalating.
“We could and should have demanded a much higher price from Iran,” Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid said after the attack. “Iran is the head of the axis of evil and must pay a high price for its aggression.”
Had Israel’s response been more devastating, it could have further escalated tensions in the region. Tehran could still respond to this attack, although Israel has reportedly warned through intermediaries that an Iranian retaliation would trigger a much harsher Israeli response.
“The president and his national security team have of course worked with the Israelis in recent weeks to encourage Israel to carry out a response that was targeted and proportionate, with a low risk of harm to the civilian population, and that appears to be exactly what happened happened tonight. ‘a senior Biden administration said one official, adding that the president “encouraged the prime minister to design a response that served to deter further attacks on Israel while reducing the risk of further escalation.”
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke with his Israeli counterpart, Yoav Gallant, on Friday as the attacks on Iran took place. The USA military deployed additional resources to Israel this month in anticipation of a possible Iranian response.
Iran has supported and trained proxy groups in the Middle East, including Hamas, for the purpose of fighting Israel so that they could maintain their plausible deniability and not cause direct conflict with Israel. Instead, Israel and Iran have historically gone after each other through espionage and targeted assassinations.
The Biden administration has continually, and sometimes unsuccessfully, tried to contain the war in the Middle East, which began on October 7, 2023, with Hamas’s devastating terrorist attack in southern Israel, which resulted in the deaths of approximately 1,200 people and the kidnapping of another 250 people.
The attack served as The then Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar It was intended as a turning point that fuels the current conflict, which is on the brink of further escalation.
Israel declared war Hamas and invaded Gaza to remove Hamas from power in the enclave and destroy its military capabilities. After a year, Israeli forces have decimated Hamas’s senior leadership, its ranks and much of the infrastructure there. Israeli officials say the death toll in Gaza is believed to be above 40,000, and about half of them were civilians. Hamas has spent its nearly two decades in power repurposing foreign aid to build its arsenal and a vast underground tunnel system that has allowed Hamas leaders to hide from Israeli forces.
Earlier this month, Israeli forces killed Sinwar, who was believed to be the mastermind behind the October 7 attack. He had spent years planning and strategizing for the attack, even going so far as to discourage fighting with the Israelis in the lead-up so that they could give the Israelis the impression that they did not want conflict.
In this photo released by the Iranian Supreme Leader’s office, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (right) greets Yahya Sinwar, a member of the delegation led by then Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh, during a meeting in Tehran, Iran, on February 12. , 2012. (Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader via AP)
It is believed that Israel was behind the assassination of the head of Hamas’s political bureau, Ismail Haniyeh, who was killed in Tehran, Iran, while he was in the country for the inauguration of the Islamic Republic’s new president.
The US, Qatar and Egypt have tried to negotiate a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas to end the war, release the hundred or so Israeli hostages still held by Hamas, and delay a withdrawal of Israeli forces. and bring about a wave of humanitarian aid to Palestinian civilians. Although negotiations had stalled due to Sinwar’s opposition, his death represents a new opportunity for the mediators, which they will pursue in the future. coming daysalthough his successor was able to maintain his hardened position.
Hezbollah, which is based in Lebanon and also has the backing of Iran, began attacking Israel a day after Hamas’s deadly attack a year ago. Hezbollah began launching thousands of missiles and rockets into northern Israel, and the Israelis evacuated more than 50,000 people from the area over concerns that Hezbollah could carry out a cross-border attack similar to that of Hamas.
Israel escalated its attacks on Hezbollah last month and decimated the group’s senior leadership, killing both Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah and his several would-be successors. Israeli forces have also begun launching ground raids in southern Lebanon. Hezbollahwhich was seen as Iran’s strongest proxy, has fought back, resulting in the deaths of several Israeli troops.
Drones fired by Hezbollah have proven to be a difficult challenge for Israel’s air defense capabilities. A drone they fired last week hit Netanyahu’s home, although he and his wife were not there at the time.
The US also wants to see an end to the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, and US officials have pointed to United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701, which ended the war between Israel and Hezbollah in 2006 but was never fully implemented was laid as a basis for an end to the war. hostilities.
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“In the coming days, we stand ready to lead an effort to end the war in Lebanon through an agreement that allows civilians on both sides of the Blue Line to return safely to their homes. We are also prepared to lead an effort to ultimately broker a ceasefire in Gaza, with the return of the hostages, which must happen without delay,” the senior US administration official said.
The resolution called on Hezbollah to move north of the Litani River Lebanonwhich would prevent them from gathering along Israel’s border. If Hezbollah were to commit to moving north of the river, it would create a buffer zone of nearly 20 miles between them and Israel.