Israel launched attacks on Iran in retaliation. Here’s what we know

Israel said on Saturday it had struck military targets in Iran in response to previous Iranian attacks, renewed fears that the long-running confrontation between the two powerful militaries could escalate into an all-out regional war drawing the United States.

The Israeli military said it had attacked Iranian missile production sites and air defense systems in what appeared to be a highly calculated response, avoiding critical energy infrastructure such as oil fields and nuclear facilities.

Iran appeared to play down the impact of the attack, claiming that its air defenses had successfully countered the attacks in three provinces – Tehran, Ilam and Khuzestan – and that the damage was “limited.”

Iran’s military said Saturday morning that two soldiers were killed in the attacks, without clarifying where the deaths occurred. The Iranian soldiers died “in the confrontation with the projectiles of the criminal Zionist entity,” a reference to Israel, the army said in a statement published on state media.

The US, meanwhile, described the attack as “an exercise in self-defense” that “avoided specifically populated areas and focused exclusively on military targets.”

Israel had vowed that Iran would pay for its massive missile attack on October 1, which fired about 200 rockets into Israel, forcing people across the country to take cover in bomb shelters. For weeks, Israeli leaders have pondered the nature and scope of such a response.

Here’s what we know.

What happened?

In the early hours of Saturday local time, Israel launched direct airstrikes on Iran, carrying out what it said were “precise strikes on military targets.”

The Israeli military said its air force struck “missile production facilities” that it said were used to produce the missiles Iran fired into Israel over the past year.

It also said the Israeli military had “targeted surface-to-air missiles and additional Iranian air capabilities intended to restrict Israel’s freedom to operate in Iran.” It is unclear whether these production facilities also produced missiles launched by Iran’s allies Hezbollah, Hamas and Houthi rebels in Yemen.

Iran later confirmed the attack but said the strikes caused only “limited damage” in some areas, while images broadcast on state media showed calm on the streets of the capital Tehran.

Iran’s state news agency reported that attacks on “military centers in Tehran, Khuzestan and Ilam provinces” had been “successfully intercepted.”

Several explosions were heard west of Tehran around 2:15 a.m. local time (7 p.m. ET Friday), according to the state news agency. Iranian officials said the explosions heard across the country were linked to the deployment of air defense systems.

The first attacks were closely followed by a second wave, when a video posted on social media by Tehran residents showed tracer fire and explosions lighting up the Iranian capital’s sky as dawn approached. This was followed by a third and final wave.

At around 6 a.m. local time, the Israeli military said it had completed its operation, saying the “mission was accomplished” and that the Israeli fighter jets “have returned home safely.”

How did we get here?

Saturday’s attacks are part of Israel’s long-awaited retaliation to the Iranian missile attack earlier this month, as the ongoing war in the Middle East continues to escalate to dangerous new levels.

On October 1, Iran launched 200 projectiles towards Tel Aviv and Israeli military bases, saying it was in response to the killing of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and others, the largest such attack ever.

That rocket barrage came about 24 hours after Israel launched a ground war in Lebanon, opening a new front in its war against Iranian-backed militants.

Israel and Iran have been waging a shadow war through proxies and covert actions for decades. In April, that war came to light when Iran launched a wave of drones and missiles at Israel in an unprecedented attack in response to a suspected Israeli attack on the Iranian consulate in Damascus, Syria.

In recent weeks, Israel has stepped up its attacks on Iranian allies, including launching attacks on the Houthis in Yemen and militants in Syria.

But it is in Lebanon where Israel has refocused its operations after tit-for-tat attacks across the border escalated after Israel eliminated the leadership of Iran-backed Hezbollah in a series of assassinations and airstrikes.

Hezbollah leader Nasrallah was killed in an Israeli attack on his underground headquarters in Beirut in September. Netanyahu had previously said his assassination was “a necessary step” toward changing “the balance of power in the region for years to come.”

Israel’s war in Lebanon has since killed more than 2,500 people, displaced 1.2 million and created an unprecedented humanitarian crisis, according to the Lebanese leader and international health officials.

In a statement issued at the start of Saturday’s actions, the Israeli military accused Iran and its regional allies of ruthlessly attacking Israel, starting with the October 7 attack last year by Iran-linked Hamas, including more than 1,200 Israelis were killed and another 250 kidnapped.

After the October 7 attacks, Israel declared war on Hamas and launched military operations in Gaza, killing more than 42,000 people.

The UN human rights chief warned Friday that “one of the darkest moments” of the war is unfolding in northern Gaza, where the Israeli army is “subjecting an entire population to bombings, sieges and famine.”

What happens next?

A major concern of the increasing military escalations is that Israel and Iran will become entangled in a full-scale war, a war that risks drawing the US – Israel’s closest ally and largest arms supplier – into the fray.

A senior US government official said President Biden last week “encouraged” Netanyahu to “design” a retaliatory attack that would “deter future attacks on Israel.”

In recent weeks, the US and other allies have urged Netanyahu to show restraint and avoid attacks on Iran’s nuclear and oil assets.

US Gulf allies, including the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Qatar, expressed similar concerns as an attack on Iranian oil facilities could have negative economic and environmental consequences for the entire region, an Arab diplomat told CNN.

The White House said the US was “not a participant in this operation” and urged “Iran to cease its attacks on Israel so that this cycle of fighting can end without further escalation.”

By refraining from attacking Iranian oil and nuclear sites, Israel has potentially left room for de-escalation. But it is unclear whether Iran will respond to this latest attack.

Israel’s top military spokesman, Vice Admiral Daniel Hagari, said after the strikes that if Iran were to begin a “new round of escalation,” Israel “will be obliged to respond.”

CNN’s Mostafa Salem, Alex Marquardt, Jeremy Diamond, Lauren Izso, Artemis Moshtaghian, Eugenia Yosef, Matthew Chance, Nechirvan Mando, Zeena Saifi, Alex Stambaugh, Samantha Waldenberg, Kayla Tausche, Paul P. Murphy, Isaac Yee, Avery Schmitz, Hamdi Alkhshali and Tara John contributed reporting.

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