Israel launched airstrikes on Iranian military targets early on Saturday in retaliation for the barrage of ballistic missiles fired by Tehran on Tel Aviv earlier this month, which damaged several buildings and air bases.
AP reported witnesses as saying that at least seven explosions were heard in the Iranian capital. There was no immediate information on the number of casualties or the extent of damage.
The Israel Defence Forces (IDF), in a statement on Saturday, said it had launched “precise strikes” on military targets in Iran. “Like every other sovereign country in the world, the State of Israel has the right and the duty to respond,” the statement added.
On October 1, Iran had fired around 180 ballistic missiles at Israel, soon after IDF units began ground operations in Lebanon. While most of Iran's missiles were intercepted by Israel's air-defence mechanisms in place, some landed in central and southern Israel, damaging maintenance areas and office buidlings of the Israeli air force.
Tel Aviv's latest strike could further push the Middle East into a crisis, as Iran had already warned that any strikes against it, will be met with stronger retaliation. Also, Iran-backed militant groups, including Hamas in Gaza, and Hezbollah in Lebanon, are already at war with Israel.
