Israel bombed military targets in Iran on Saturday, October 26, 2024, killing two soldiers and fulfilling a vow to avenge a missile barrage and stirring fears of a full-scale Middle East war.

Israel warned Iran would “pay a heavy price” if it responded to the strikes, and the United States and Britain both demanded Tehran not escalate the conflict further.

The Islamic Republic insisted it had the “right and the duty” to defend itself, while its Lebanese ally Hezbollah said it had targeted a southern Israeli airbase and a northern intelligence base.

Confirming the strikes after explosions and anti-aircraft fire echoed around Tehran, the Israel military said it had hit Iranian missile factories and military facilities in several regions.

The “retaliatory strike has been completed and the mission was fulfilled”, while Israeli aircraft “returned safely”, a military spokesman added.

Iran confirmed an Israeli attack had targeted military sites in Tehran province around the capital and other parts of the country, saying the raids caused “limited damage” but killed two soldiers.

“Iran has the right and the duty to defend itself against foreign acts of aggression,” the foreign ministry said, citing Article 51 of the UN Charter.

Israel had vowed to retaliate after October 1, when Iran fired about 200 missiles in only the second-ever direct attack against its arch-foe. Most of those missiles were intercepted but one person was killed.

Israel kills Hamas leader in Gaza

The Israeli retaliation drew condemnation from Hamas, Iraq, Pakistan, Syria, and Saudi Arabia, which warned against further escalation. Jordan stated that Israeli jets had not used its airspace.

Hezbollah, the Lebanese movement backed by Iran, said it had fired rockets at Israeli soldiers near the village of Aita al-Shaab in southern Lebanon and launched drones against Israel’s Tel Nof air base.

Tel Nof is south of Tel Aviv and, if confirmed, the drone mission would be the militia’s first attempt to hit it in this round of fighting.

Israel is already engaged in combat on two fronts.

Since last month, it has been conducting a war against Hezbollah in Lebanon, including strikes that have killed senior leadership and ground incursions seeking to destroy missile sites.

For more than a year since Hamas launched the October 7 cross-border attack, Israel has been fighting a war in Gaza that has caused mass civilian casualties in the densely populated Palestinian territory.

The United Nations has warned the “darkest moment” of that conflict was unfolding, with Palestinians facing a dire humanitarian crisis and daily Israeli bombing.

Along with Hezbollah and Hamas, Iranian-allied groups in Yemen, Iraq, and Syria have carried out attacks during the fallout from the Gaza war.

At roughly the same time as Israel struck targets in Iran, the Syrian state news agency SANA said an Israeli air attack targeted military positions in central and southern Syria.

The Star