Israel Attacks Iran; Tehran Says Its "Air Defence Was Successful" (image @ur_rajshi_18)
Israel attacked Iran during the early hours of Saturday, saying only military sites were targeted. The attack was said to be the retaliation of the barrage of missiles Iran has send earlier this month, which itself is a retaliation of Israeli attacks. Explosions were heard across Tehran. The Islamic Republic said only “limited damage” were caused by the Israeli attack. US said it is aware of Israel’s attack on Iran and added that they are an “exercise in self-defence”.
The hours-long Israeli attack ended just before the sunrise. The Israeli Occupation Force (IOF) said it targeted “missile manufacturing facilities used to produce the missiles that Iran fired at the state of Israel over the last year.” It also said it hit surface-to-air missile sites and “additional Iranian aerial capabilities”.
Iran’s military said the attack targeted military bases in Ilam, Khuzestan and Tehran provinces and caused “limited damage,” without elaborating.
Tehran’s state-run media acknowledged blasts that could be heard in capital city and said some of the sounds came from air defence systems around the city. Iranian officials said the sound of explosions in Tehran is the air defence system intervening – these are anti-aircraft systems shooting at drones, said Al Jazeera. The officials also added that no military target has been hit in a meaningful way.
At the same time, other than the brief mentioning, Iranian state television for hours offered no other details and even began showing what it described as live footage of men loading trucks at a vegetable market in Tehran in an apparent attempt to downplay the assault, said AP.
Iran’s official IRNA news reported by siting a security source that some of the sounds heard in the capital were caused by “defence activity in Tehran, and the air defence was successful during this incident”.
The extent of Israel’s attack is not clear. It is unclear if the attacks will continue in rounds, or has concluded. It is also not clear if Israel will go after Iran’s nuclear facilities and oil infrastructures like it said initially. US has warned Israel against targeting both.
