Israel strikes Iran

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.

The Israeli military has carried out airstrikes on Iranian missile manufacturing facilities and surface-to-air missile arrays, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said.

TASS has gathered the main information about these developments.

Israeli operation and its consequences

- Over 100 planes were involved in the 2000 km attack, including the cutting-edge F-35, the Jerusalem Post reported.

- Israel hit about 20 targets, the New York Times said.

- The Israeli military carried out three waves of strikes on targets in Iran, Barak Ravid, political reporter for the Axios media outlet, said, citing sources. The first wave focused on the Iranian air defense system and the second and third waves focused on missile and drone bases and production sites.

- The Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) reported that the Israeli army had carried out strikes on military facilities in southern and central Syria. The country’s air defenses downed several missiles.

- Israel’s preliminary strike on radar targets in Syria was aimed at "blinding" Iran’s capabilities, quickly escalating into an offensive targeting Tehran and Karaj, Iran’s capital and another strategic location, the Jerusalem Post reported.

- Israel did not target Iranian nuclear and strategic facilities, Iran’s ShafaqNA news agency reported, adding that no civilian or military casualties had been reported.

- Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) facilities in western and southwestern Tehran were not hit by Israeli strikes, the Tasnim news agency said.

- Israel’s strikes targeted neither Iran’s oil facilities nor Tehran’s Imam Khomeini International Airport nor Mehrabad International Airport in the Iranian capital, the Lebanon-based Al Mayadeen TV channel reported.

- All flights in Iran have been canceled until further notice.

- The situation in Tehran and other big Iranian cities remains calm, a Russian embassy spokesperson said, adding that the embassy continued to operate normally.

- The Iranian military said that some of its facilities in the provinces of Tehran, Khuzestan and Ilam had come under attack but Israel had only managed to cause limited damage, while the country’s air defense systems deflected the main impact.

- Iran has informed Israel via third countries that it will not retaliate in response to its strike, Sky News Arabia said, citing anonymous sources.

• The public relations office of the Iranian air defense command issued a statement announcing that Israeli airstrikes against military centers in Tehran, the western province of Ilam, and the southwestern province of Khuzestan have been intercepted and countered successfully, IRNA informs.

On Saturday, the Islamic Republic’s air defense system command confirmed the airstrikes, stating they were part of Israel's escalating measures and caused limited damage.

The statement also urged people to remain calm, maintain solidarity, and rely only on news from state media. It called on the nation to ignore enemy media rumors.

• Iranian Government Spokeswoman Fatemeh Mohajerani has hailed the country's air defense force for their powerful action to defend military sites against the latest Israeli attacks, saying that the action revived Iranians’ national pride, IRNA reports.

Citing official statements by the Iranian defense force, the spokeswoman said that only minor damage has been caused, calling on people to not pay attention to rumors and fake images circulated by “certain media outlets” and follow up news through official channels.

Iran is powerful and such evil acts cannot create issues for it, she said, adding that the country is currently in a normal situation and even flights have been resumed.

• The Iranian Foreign Ministry says that the Islamic Republic is entitled and duty-bound to defend itself against the Zionist regime’s acts of aggression that took place early on Saturday.

Calling for maximizing all its material and spiritual capabilities to defend its security and vital interests and recognizing its duties toward regional peace and stability, the Islamic Republic reminds the regional countries of their individual and collective responsibility to safeguard peace and stability in the region, the statement noted.

Iran thanks all peace-loving countries in the region and other states that have expressed disgust toward and condemned the aggressive action of the Israeli regime by recognizing the critical situation, it further noted.

The continuation of the occupation, illegal actions, and Israeli atrocities in the region, especially the genocide of the Palestinians and the aggression against Lebanon, which is supported by the US and some other Western countries, is the main cause of tension and insecurity in the region, the statement underlined.

• A spokesman of Tehran Oil Refinery has rejected reports the facility was a target of any attack by the Israeli regime, saying that the refinery is operating normally.

There has been no attack on the facilities of this refinery and the production in this refining unit of the country continues as usual, Shaker Khafaie said on Saturday.

On Saturday, the Islamic Republic’s air defense system command confirmed the airstrikes, stating they were part of Israel's escalating measures and caused limited damage.

Despite Iran’s warnings against Israel’s adventurous actions, this aggression occurred, the statement said.

Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova’s comment on the Israeli airstrikes targeting Iranian territory.

According to the incoming reports, in the early hours of October 26, the Israeli Air Force, acting in coordination with the United States, carried out airstrikes targeting several facilities in the Iranian provinces of Tehran, Ilam and Khuzestan. Iran reported that its air defence systems had been already placed on heightened combat alert and were able to intercept a sizable share of aerial bombs. Apart from members of the Iranian military, no other casualties or wounded, including among civilians, including Russian residing in Iran, were reported.

The Foreign Ministry expresses its deep concern regarding the ongoing explosive escalation between Israel and the Islamic Republic. This situation poses a real threat to regional stability and security. It is obvious that its root causes consist in the failure to settle the Israeli-Palestinian conflict based on UN Security Council and General Assembly resolutions, which provokes ever-growing tensions.

We view bringing the military and political situation in the Middle East back to normal as an imperative, which would meet the interests of all the reasonable actors both within the region and beyond.

We urge all the stakeholders to exercise restraint, stop violence and prevent the situation from sliding towards a grave disaster. It is high time that efforts to provoke Iran to respond cease. There must be an end to the spiral of uncontrolled escalation.

Russia is ready to work with all the parties to de-escalate the confrontation.

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