Iran says it has “duty to defend itself” after Israeli strikes

Iran said Saturday it had a “duty to defend itself” after airstrikes on missile manufacturing sites by Israel, which threatened to make the Islamic Republic “pay a high price” if it retaliated.

These bombings come a month after Iranian missile strikes on Israel, at a time when the Israeli army is at war with two Islamist movements supported by Iran, Hamas in the Gaza Strip for over a year and Hezbollah in Lebanon since the end of September.

The Israeli attack on “military sites in the provinces of Tehran and those of Khuzestan (southwest) and Ilam (west)”, bordering Iraq, caused “limited damage”, assured the Iranian air defense forces, while the Iranian army reported the death of two soldiers, without specifying where.

After the firing of some 200 Iranian missiles on October 1, Israel had sworn to take revenge and Tehran had assured that it was ready to retaliate to an attack, raising fears of a regional war.

“Iran considers that it has the right and the duty to defend itself against foreign acts of aggression”, declared the head of Iranian diplomacy, Abbas Araghchi, citing the “basis of the inherent right of legitimate defense which appears in Article 51 of the Charter The Israeli military said it had “struck missile manufacturing sites (…) that Iran has been firing at the State of Israel for the past year. These missiles posed a direct and immediate threat to the citizens of Israel.”

“The Iranian regime and its proxies in the region have relentlessly attacked Israel since October 7 (2023) on multiple fronts, including direct attacks from Iranian soil,” Israel said.

– “Response Completed” –

This screenshot from a video released by the Israeli military on October 26, 2024, shows military spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari calling on Israelis to be “vigilant” as his troops carry out strikes in Iran © Israeli Army – –

According to the Israeli military, the strikes also targeted “surface-to-air missile batteries and other air systems that were intended to restrict Israel’s freedom to operate in Iran.”

“All those who threaten the State of Israel and attempt to plunge the region into a broader escalation will pay a high price,” said Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, a military spokesman.

He assured that The Israeli army had “completed the Israeli response to Iran's attacks on Israel.”

During the night in Iran, the official news agency Irna reported the first detonations around 02:15 local time, mainly west of Tehran, while state television reported “six strong detonations” around Tehran, “linked to the activation of the air defense system”.

AFP journalists heard continuous detonations accompanied by luminous trails in the sky seen from the center of the Iranian capital.

Iran announced in the morning the reopening of its airspace, closed after the attack, from 09:00 local time (05:30 GMT).

Almost at the same time in Syria, whose regime is allied with Iran, the state news agency announced Saturday that Israel had carried out an airstrike against “military positions” on its territory during the night.”

In Iraq, the factions of the “Islamic Resistance”, a nebulous group of Iraqi armed groups allied with Tehran, claimed responsibility for a drone attack on a “military target” in northern Israel at dawn on Saturday.

Iraq has announced the suspension of traffic at all its airports until further notice due to “regional tensions”.

– “Extension of the conflict” –

Israeli strikes near the Lebanese village of Adaysseh, October 26, 2024 © AFP – –

In Washington, the White House described the Israeli strikes as “self-defense maneuvers” and called on Tehran to “cease its attacks against Israel so that this cycle of violence can end without further escalation.”

The Israeli strikes were condemned by several Middle Eastern countries, such as Saudi Arabia, Iraq, the United Arab Emirates and Syria, fearing a regional conflagration, while Iran had promised that it would respond to an Israeli attack.

On the Lebanese front, the Ani news agency reported that the Israeli army was “dynamiting” houses in the border village of Adaysseh.

The Israeli army announced the interception of a drone and struck 70 Hezbollah targets, as it continues its ground operation in southern Lebanon bordering Israel launched on September 30.

After weakening Hamas in Gaza, the Israeli army has moved the heart of its operations to Lebanon.

It says it wants to defeat Hezbollah in the border areas and allow the return to northern Israel of 60,000 displaced people due to rocket fire from the Islamist movement over the past year, which opened a front in support of Hamas on October 8, 2023.

Bombings in Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip, October 26, 2024 © AFP – –

But since October 6, the Israeli army has resumed its offensive in the northern Gaza Strip, where it says Hamas is regrouping its forces, at a time when a resumption of talks for an end to the war is taking shape, after the death of Hamas leader Yahya Sinouar, killed by Israeli soldiers on October 16.

The head of Mossad, Israeli David Barnea, is due to meet his CIA counterpart, American Bill Burns, and the Qatari Prime Minister in Qatar on Sunday.

But the north of the Palestinian territory is living its “darkest hours”, warned the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk.

The war in Gaza was triggered by the unprecedented attack by Hamas against Israel on October 7, 2023, which resulted in the death of 1,206 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP count based on official Israeli data, including hostages killed or killed in captivity.

The Israeli offensive launched to annihilate Hamas has cost the lives of at least 42,847 Palestinians, mostly civilians, according to data from the Ministry of Health, deemed reliable by the UN.

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