Israel Has Openly Bombed Iran For The First Time, Pushing The Middle East To The Brink Of All-Out War
On Saturday, Oct. 26, Israel launched dozens of fighter jets at Iran, as its long awaited response to Iran’s retaliation.
Israel launched a huge attack on Iran, targeting military sites in what it called “Operation Days of Repentance”, leading to growing fears of all-out war breaking in the Middle East.
Early on Saturday, Oct. 26, Israel launched dozens of fighter jets at Iran, as its long awaited response to Iran’s Oct. 1 attack on Israel.
Iran had been retaliating against Israel’s assassination of Hamas’ political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Iran and Hezbollah’s leader Hassan Nasrallah in Lebanon.
Israel’s attack killed four Iranian soldiers, according to local media.
Israel and Iran have been in a years-long “shadow war” for power in the Middle East, with both accusing each other of attacking their interests, but this is the first time Israel directly and openly attacked Iran since the 1980s.
Israel said it carried out three waves of airstrikes, hitting 20 military sites including missile and drone manufacturing sites and aerial defences in several areas in Iran.
Iranian authorities said that the attacks had been successfully countered, adding that there was "limited damage" in some locations.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry issued a statement saying it “considers itself entitled and obligated to defend against foreign acts of aggression,” adding that Iran has “no limits” in defending its interests.
Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, emphasized that Iran retains the right to respond to the attacks but did not explicitly call for immediate retaliation.
Analysts say Khamenei's comments suggested a desire to avoid escalating tensions further, as he indicated that the situation should neither be exaggerated nor dismissed.
Isha Jain
Cherry Mohamed
Isha Jain
