Israel Strikes Iran With 100 Warplanes, Iran Urged Not To Respond

Reports emerged early Saturday morning that Israeli warplanes had hit 20 military sites in Iran in a long-anticipated retaliation for Iran's ballistic missile attack on October 1st, dubbed "Operation Days of Repentance" by the IDF. The primary targets for Israel's attack was ballistic missile manufacturing and launch sites, as well as the air defense network. Strikes were reported in the Tehran, Karaj, Isfahan and Shiraz areas, with at least three waves of Israeli attacks. Iran claimed, without citing evidence, to have intercepted most of the incoming Israeli missiles.

Iran cleared its airspace for the duration of the attack, which was carried out 1,600 kilometers (1,000 miles) from Israeli airspace, making it the most complicated and technically difficult attack the Israeli air force ever conducted to date. It included ariel refueling aircraft, reconnaissance aircraft, drones and strike aircraft.

Israel immediately announced that it was claiming responsibility for the attack, adding that it had largely destroyed Iran's air defense network, leaving the way open for more attacks if Iran retaliates. Sites in Syria and Iraq were also reportedly hit, as part of an effort to clear out Iran's regional surveillance and air defense architecture.

The second and third waves of strikes destroyed drone and ballistic missile manufacturing sites in Iran, in an apparent nod to the ballistic missile strikes Iran carried out on April 14th and October 1st.

At 6 AM, the IDF issued a statement that the campaign had resulted in “all goals achieved” and no aircraft or crew lost.

“The regime in Iran and its proxies in the region have been relentlessly attacking Israel since October 7th –- on seven fronts –- including direct attacks from Iranian soil,” the IDF said. “Like every other sovereign country in the world, the State of Israel has the right and the duty to respond.”

“Iran struck Israel twice… and has paid the price for that,” IDF Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari added. “We are focused on the goals of the war in Gaza and Lebanon. It is Iran that continues to push for a wide regional escalation. If the regime in Iran were to make the mistake of beginning a new round of escalation — we will be obligated to respond. Our message is clear: All those who threaten the State of Israel and seek to drag the region into a wider escalation will pay a heavy price. We demonstrated today that we have both the capability and the resolve to act decisively, and we are prepared — on offense and defense — to defend Israel and the people of Israel.”

In answer to a question about why Israel did not target Iran's nuclear facilities and/or oil infrastructure, an Israeli official quoted by NBC News replied “We’re targeting things that might have threatened us in the past or could do in the future.”

Iranian officials were slow to respond to the strikes but when a response did come, the tone was the customary mix of bluster and impotent rage.

“Iran has the right and the duty to defend itself against foreign acts of aggression,” Iran’s foreign ministry said in a statement, citing Article 51 of the United Nations Charter. However, there was no statement from any organ of the regime indicating a plan for a response in the immediate future.

Separately, media reports in Iran said four IRGC soldiers were killed in the strikes, with no further details being immediately revealed.

However, reports in Western media outlets quoted sources in Iran as saying that heavy damage was done to least three Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps missile bases and the Parchin IRGC base near Teheran, where the IDF has long claimed that Iran was carrying out work related to it's military nuclear program. The IAEA said in 2016 that it had found evidence of nuclear-related research being conducted at this site.

Western Allies Back Israel, Call For Iran To Not Respond

Officials in the Administration of US President Joe Biden and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer issued robust statements backing Israel's right to strike Iran in retaliation for the October 1st ballistic missile attack and urging Iran not to respond. Germany and several other Western countries also issued statements in support of Israel.

Several Arab and Moslem-dominated countries around the world issued calls for restraint, while seeming to blame Israel for the rise in regional tensions.

“We urge Iran to cease its attacks on Israel so that this cycle of fighting can end without further escalation,” US National Security Council spokesman Sean Savett said. “Their response was an exercise in self-defense and specifically avoided populated areas and focused solely on military targets, contrary to Iran’s attack against Israel that targeted Israel’s most populous city.” He added that the US did not directly participate in the Israeli strike and that “it is our aim to accelerate diplomacy and de-escalate tensions in the Middle East region.”

Another senior Biden Administration officials said that the national security team had worked with “Israelis over recent weeks to encourage Israel to conduct a response that was targeted and proportional with low risk of civilian harm. And that appears to have been precisely what transpired this evening.”

Meanwhile, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer also said Iran should not respond to the wave of Israeli strikes, urging restraint on all sides.

“I am clear that Israel has the right to defend itself against Iranian aggression," Starmer said. "I’m equally clear that we need to avoid further regional escalation and urge all sides to show restraint. Iran should not respond.”

Germany’s Chancellor Olaf Scholz posted on X, saying “My message to Iran is clear: massive escalating reactions must not continue. These must stop immediately. Only then can we open the possibility of a peaceful evolution in the Middle East.”

Russia, a major ally of Iran, was more neutral in it's public comments, with Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria saying “We urge all parties involved to exercise restraint, stop the violence and prevent events from developing into a catastrophic scenario.”