Israel's first open attack on Iran targets missile sites and

apparently spares oil and nuclear ones

By JON GAMBRELL, TIA GOLDENBERG and ADAM SCHRECK

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Israel attacked military targets in Iran with pre-dawn airstrikes Saturday in
retaliation for the barrage of ballistic missiles the Islamic Republic fired on Israel earlier this month. It was
the first time Israel’s military has openly attacked Iran.

The Israeli military said its aircraft targeted facilities that Iran used to make the missiles fired at Israel as well
as surface-to-air missile sites.

Crucially, there was no indication that Iran’s oil or nuclear sites were struck. Iran insisted the strikes caused
only “limited damage,” and Iranian state-run media downplayed them. Taken together, the moves suggested
at least for now that both countries are trying to avoid a more serious escalation.

Still, the strikes risk pushing the archenemies closer to all-out war at a time of spiraling violence across the
Middle East, where militant groups backed by Iran — including Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon —
are already at war with Israel.

Following the airstrikes, Iran’s Foreign Ministry issued a statement saying it “considers itself entitled and
obligated to defend against foreign acts of aggression.” Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Iran has “no
limits” in defending its interests and called for the U.N. Security Council to condemn Israel for the attacks.

But late Saturday, Iran’s military issued a carefully worded statement suggesting any cease-fire in Israel’s
ground offensives in Gaza and Lebanon would trump any possible retaliatory strike.

Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency said four people were killed, all with the military air defense. Iran’s
military said the strikes targeted military bases in Ilam, Khuzestan and Tehran provinces. But the powerful
paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, which oversees Iran’s vast ballistic missile arsenal, was silent, raising
questions about whether anything had been hit at its bases.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, in a statement posted to X, gave his condolences to the families of the
dead and warned against future attacks.

“Enemies of Iran should know these brave people are standing fearlessly in defense of their land and will
respond to any stupidity with tact and intelligence,” he wrote.

U.S. President Joe Biden told reporters Israel gave him a heads-up before the strikes and said it looked like
“they didn’t hit anything but military targets.” His administration won assurances from Israel in mid-October
that it would not hit nuclear facilities and oil installations. The head of the International Atomic Energy
Agency said Iran’s nuclear facilities were not impacted.

“I hope this is the end,” Biden said.

Israel’s first open attack on Iran

Iran hadn’t faced a sustained barrage of fire from a foreign enemy since its 1980s war with Iraq. Explosions
could be heard in Tehran until sunrise.

Israel is also widely thought to be behind a limited airstrike in April near a major air base in Iran that hit the
radar system for a Russian-made air defense battery. Iran had earlier fired a wave of missiles and drones at
Israel, causing minimal damage, after two Iranian generals were killed in an apparent Israeli airstrike on an
Iranian diplomatic post in Syria.

On Oct. 1, Iran launched at least 180 missiles into Israel in retaliation for devastating blows Israel landed
against Hezbollah. They caused minimal damage and a few injuries. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said
Iran “made a big mistake.”
“If the regime in Iran were to make the mistake of beginning a new round of escalation, we will be obligated to
respond,” Israeli military spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said.

Images released by Israel’s military showed members preparing to depart for the strikes in American-made
F-15 and F-16 warplanes.

The Iranian military statement described Israel’s warplanes as firing lightweight missiles at a distance of 100
kilometers (62 miles) from the Iranian border. The missiles struck air defense radar stations, the military said,
some of which were already under repair.

Iran’s mission to the United Nations accused the U.S. of complicity in the attack, asserting that the U.S.
controls Iraqi airspace.

Israel’s attack did not take out highly visible or symbolic facilities that could prompt a significant response
from Iran, said Yoel Guzansky, a researcher at Tel Aviv’s Institute for National Security Studies who formerly
worked for Israel’s National Security Council.

It also gives Israel room for escalation if needed, and targeting air defense systems weakens Iran’s capabilities
to defend against future attacks, he said, adding that if there is Iranian retaliation, it should be limited.

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told Yoav Gallant, the Israeli defense minister, that “Iran should not
make the mistake of responding to Israel’s strikes, which should mark the end of this exchange,” according to
Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder, Pentagon press secretary. The pair spoke Friday and Saturday.

On the campaign trail this weekend, Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump
briefly addressed the airstrikes.

“Israel is attacking -- we’ve got a war going on and she’s out partying,” Trump said at a rally in Michigan on
Friday as Harris was holding an event with Beyoncé in Texas.

Meanwhile, Harris on Saturday called for “de-escalation and not an escalation of activities in that region.”

“I feel very strongly, we as the United States feel very strongly that Iran must stop what it is doing in terms of
the threat that it presents to the region and we will always defend Israel against any attacks by Iran in that
way,” she told reporters in Michigan.

Sanam Vakil, the director of the Middle East and North Africa program at the London-based think tank
Chatham House, said Israel sent a signal by what it attacked.

“By targeting military sites and missile facilities over nuclear and energy infrastructure, Israel is also
messaging that it seeks no further escalation for now,” Vakil said.

After the strikes, the streets in Iran’s capital were calm, with schools and shops open. There were long lines at
the gas stations — a regular occurrence when military violence flares. But some residents seemed anxious and
avoided conversations with an Associated Press reporter.

Mixed reactions at home and abroad

Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid criticized the decision to avoid “strategic and economic targets,” saying on
X that “we could and should have exacted a much heavier price from Iran.”

The United States warned against further retaliation, and Britain and Germany said Iran should not respond.
“All acts of escalation are condemnable and must stop,” the spokesman for the U.N. secretary-general said.

Saudi Arabia was one of multiple countries in the region condemning the strike, calling it a violation of Iran’s
“sovereignty and a violation of international laws and norms.” Hezbollah and Hamas condemned Israel’s
attack.

Regional tensions have been soaring.

In Lebanon, dozens were killed and thousands wounded in September when pagers and walkie-talkies used by
Hezbollah exploded in attacks attributed to Israel. A massive Israel airstrike the following week outside Beirut
killed Hezbollah’s longtime leader, Hassan Nasrallah.
Israel launched a ground invasion into southern Lebanon. More than a million Lebanese people have been
displaced, and the death toll has risen sharply as airstrikes hit in and around Beirut.

Hezbollah warned 25 communities in northern Israel to evacuate Saturday, calling them “legitimate military
targets” because Israel was attacking the militant group from there.

Enemies for decades

Israel and Iran have been bitter foes since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Israel considers Iran its greatest
threat, citing its leaders’ calls for Israel’s destruction, their support for anti-Israel militant groups and the
country’s nuclear program.

During their yearslong shadow war, a suspected Israeli assassination campaign has killed top Iranian nuclear
scientists, and Iranian nuclear installations have been hacked or sabotaged. Meanwhile, Iran has been blamed
for attacks on shipping in the Middle East.

The shadow war has increasingly moved into the light since Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas and other militants
attacked Israel. They killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took some 250 hostages into Gaza. In response,
Israel launched a devastating air and ground offensive against Hamas. Some 100 remain, about a third
believed to be dead.

More than 42,000 Palestinians have been killed in largely devastated Gaza, according to local health officials,
who don’t differentiate between civilians and combatants but say more than half have been women and
children.

“Those who were not killed by the bombing are dying from starvation. This is life,” said one woman displaced
from northern Gaza, Madallah Abu Zaid.

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Gambrell reported from Dubai, United Arab Emirates and Schreck from Jerusalem. Associated Press writers
Amir Vahdat in Tehran, Iran; Abby Sewell in Beirut; Lolita C. Baldor, Farnoush Amiri and Zeke Miller in
Washington; David Rising in Bangkok; and Aamer Madhani in Wilmington, Delaware, contributed to this
report.

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Follow AP’s war coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war