Israel hits back at Iran with military target strikes

Israel has hit back at Iran, with its military saying it has conducted strikes against military targets in response to Tehran's attacks on Israel.

The Israeli military said on Saturday its strikes had been completed and its objectives achieved but a semi-official Iranian news agency vowed a "proportional reaction" to Israeli moves against Tehran.

Iranian media reported multiple explosions over several hours in the capital and at nearby military bases, starting shortly after 2am (2230 GMT on Friday).

Iran said its air defence system successfully countered Israel's attacks on military targets in the provinces of Tehran, Khuzestan and Ilam with "limited damage" to some locations.

The Middle East has been on edge awaiting Israel's retaliation for a ballistic missile barrage carried out by Iran on October 1 when about 200 missiles were fired at Israel and one person was killed in the West Bank.

Tensions between arch-rivals Israel and Iran have escalated since Hamas, the Iran-backed Palestinian militant group based in Gaza, attacked Israel on October 7, 2023.

Hamas has been supported by Lebanon-based Hezbollah militants, also backed by Iran.

Fears that Iran and the US would be drawn into a regional war have risen with Israel's intensifying assault on Hezbollah since September, including air strikes on the Lebanese capital Beirut and a ground operation, as well as its year-old war in Gaza.

"In response to months of continuous attacks from the regime in Iran against the State of Israel - right now the Israel Defense Forces is conducting precise strikes on military targets in Iran," Israel's military said in a statement announcing the attack.

The military said later it had completed its "targeted" attacks in Iran, striking truck missile manufacturing facilities and surface-to-aerial equipment, adding its planes had safely returned home.

"If the regime in Iran were to make the mistake of beginning a new round of escalation, we will be obligated to respond," the military said.

Targets did not include energy infrastructure or Iran's nuclear facilities, a US official said.

US President Joe Biden had warned Washington, Israel's main backer and supplier of arms, would not support a strike on Tehran's nuclear sites and said Israel should consider alternatives to attacking Iran's oil fields.

Iranian authorities have repeatedly warned Israel against any attack.

"Iran reserves the right to respond to any aggression, and there is no doubt that Israel will face a proportional reaction for any action it takes," the semi-official Tasnim news agency said on Saturday, citing sources.

A senior Biden official said Israel's "targeted and proportional strikes" should be the end of direct exchange of fire between the two countries but the US was fully prepared to defend Israel if Iran responded.

Videos carried by Iranian media showed air defences continuously firing at apparently incoming projectiles in central Tehran, without saying which sites were coming under attack.

Tasnim news agency said Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps bases that were attacked were not damaged.

Israel targeted some military sites in Syria's central and southern parts with air strikes early on Saturday, Syrian state news agency SANA reported.

Israel has not confirmed striking Syria.

Israel said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and other security officials had closely followed the operation at the military's command and control centre in Tel Aviv.

Israel notified the US before its strikes, but Washington was not involved in the operation, a US official told Reuters.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, in the Middle East for another attempt to broker a peace deal, said on Wednesday Israel's retaliation should not lead to greater escalation.