Israeli air strikes on Iran kill two soldiers

On Saturday morning, the Israeli Defence Force confirmed it had been “conducting precise strikes on military targets in Iran” but is not targeting the Middle Eastern nation’s nuclear or oil facilities.

Iranian state media reported sounds of explosions near the capital, and two soldiers have been killed.

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A statement from the Iranian army read: "The army of the Islamic Republic of Iran, in defending Iran’s security and protecting the people and Iran’s interests, sacrificed two of its fighters while countering projectiles from the criminal Zionist regime."

Two Israeli officials have confirmed that IDF airstrikes against Iran were not targeting nuclear or oil facilities.

Israel said its aircraft “struck missile manufacturing facilities used to produce the missiles that Iran fired at the state of Israel over the last year”.

The military statement said: “These missiles posed a direct and immediate threat to the citizens of the state of Israel.”

It offered no damage assessment, but added it had “struck surface-to-air missile arrays and additional Iranian aerial capabilities, that were intended to restrict Israel’s aerial freedom of operation in Iran.”

Iran said Israeli strikes targeted military bases in Ilam, Khuzestan and Tehran provinces, causing “limited damage”.

Iranian state media reported the sound of explosions around the capital Tehran without immediately elaborating.

An Israeli military statement said that Israel “has the right and the duty to respond.”

“The regime in Iran and its proxies in the region have been relentlessly attacking Israel since October 7 – on seven fronts – including direct attacks from Iranian soil,” the statement read.

It also did not elaborate on the targets.

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Iranian state television later identified some of the blasts as coming from air defence systems, without offering more details.

International flights began diverting around western Iran as news of the strikes broke, flight-tracking data has shown. An advisory to pilots said Iran had closed the country’s airspace.

In Tehran, the Iranian capital, the sound of explosions could be heard, with state-run media saying some of the sounds came from air defence systems around the city.

A Tehran resident told The Associated Press that at least seven explosions could be heard, which rattled the surrounding area. The resident spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals.

In Syria, the state news agency SANA citing an unnamed military official, reported “barrages of missiles from the direction of the occupied Syrian Golan and Lebanese territories targeted some military sites in the southern and central regions” early on Saturday.

It said that Syria’s air defences had shot some of the missiles down.

There was no immediate information on casualties.

Israel had vowed to hit Iran hard following a massive Iranian missile barrage on October 1.

Iran said its barrage was in response to deadly Israeli attacks against Hezbollah in Lebanon and it has promised to respond to any retaliatory strikes.

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Israel considers Iran to be its greatest threat, citing its leaders’ calls for Israel’s destruction, their support for anti-Israel militant groups and the country’s nuclear programme.

Following the strikes on Saturday morning, the UK Government said it was monitoring the situation closely.

“We support Israel’s right to self-defence and to protect itself in line with international humanitarian law. Further escalation is in no one’s interest,” a spokesperson for 10 Downing Street said.

Keir Starmer said Iran should not respond to Israel’s attack, adding: “I think we need to be really clear that Israel does have the right to defend itself, but we are urging, and have been urging all sides to show restraint.”