An Israeli airstrike on Iran on Friday knocked out Iran’s air defenses, according to Western and Iranian officials, and the attack was intended to send a message that Israel could bypass Iran’s defenses and disable them without being detected. paralysis.
The attack damaged a defensive battery near the central Iranian city of Natanz, which is critical to the country’s nuclear weapons program, according to two Western and two Iranian officials. The attack – and the targets revealed on Saturday – were in retaliation for an Iranian attack on Israel last week after Israel bombed its embassy compound in Damascus. But the firepower it uses is a fraction of the hundreds of drones and missiles Tehran has fired at Israel.
Friday’s attack was the latest in a series of tit-for-tat attacks between the two countries this month that have heightened fears of a wider regional conflict. But the relatively limited scope of the Israeli attack and the muted response from Iranian officials appeared to have eased tensions.
Iran and Israel engage in year-long dispute shadow warBut the conflict intensified on April 1, when Israeli warplanes killed seven Iranian officials. including three senior commanders, an Iranian diplomatic residence in Syria that Israel claims is being used as a military site. Iran responded last week by launching a series of drones, cruise missiles and ballistic missiles at Israel, nearly all of which were shot down by Israel and its allies. But the attacks still unnerve Israelis.
The attack was Iran’s first direct attack on Israeli territory, bringing into public view the two countries’ long-standing secret war on land, air, sea and cyberspace. While world leaders and Western allies, including the United States, are eager to de-escalate the situation and urge Israel not to respond in a way that could lead to regional war, the Israeli government has vowed to respond.
While Israeli leaders came close to ordering a wider attack on Iran, Friday’s attack appeared to be intended to send a warning about Israel’s military capabilities but would not further escalate tensions as Israel continues to fight Hamas in Gaza.
Two Iranian officials who discussed the Israeli attack said Israel struck an S-300 air defense system at a military base in Isfahan province.The official’s statement was supported Satellite images analyzed by The New York Timesshowing damage to the S-300 system radar at the 8th Shekari Air Base in Isfahan.
It is unclear exactly what kind of weapon attacked the S-300 system. Three Western officials and two Iranian officials confirmed on Friday that Israel had deployed drones and at least one missile launched from a warplane. Previously, Iranian officials had said that the attack on the military base was carried out by a small drone and was likely launched from Iranian territory.
Two Western officials said one missile was launched from a warplane far away from Israeli or Iranian airspace and that the weapon used technology that allowed it to evade Iran’s radar defenses. Two Iranian officials said the military did not detect anything entering the country’s airspace on Friday, including drones, missiles or aircraft.
Tensions between Israel and Iran continued on Saturday as Israel’s war with Hamas entered its sixth month, with reports of deadly attacks in southern Gaza.
Israeli air strikes on Rafah on Saturday killed at least 10 civilians, including women and children, Palestinian state media reported, spreading fear in a region where more than 1 million Palestinians have been displaced.
Palestinians have been preparing for weeks for an Israeli ground offensive in Rafah, Gaza’s southern tip, where most of the area’s 2.2 million residents have fled after being forced from their homes. Israeli bombings and ground incursions have killed more than 30,000 people, according to local officials.
Israeli airstrikes on Saturday hit two houses, while missiles and artillery struck other areas in and around Rafah, the Wafa news agency reported. The Israeli military had no immediate comment on the attack.
“It was like an earthquake,” Mohammad al-Masri, 31, said of the shaking caused by the attack.
Masri, an accountant who was holed up with his family in a tent in a large camp in Rafah, said the first strike took place just after midnight and the second shortly after.
“When we hear about these strikes, we don’t know what to do,” he said. “Everyone is saying the same thing: ‘Where can we go?'”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the Israeli military planned to invade Rafah to “totally eliminate Hamas’ battalions” and destroy its network of tunnels. World leaders, including President Joe Biden, have urged Israel not to invade the city because of the risk of serious civilian casualties.
About 500 miles away, Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh traveled to Turkey on Saturday to meet with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who There has been strong condemnation of Israel and its leaders since the war broke out in October.
Turkey was once Israel’s closest friend in the Muslim world, but relations have become increasingly volatile since Israel invaded Gaza. Erdogan supports the Palestinian cause, which enjoys broad public support in Turkey, and has defended Hamas and strongly condemned Israel and its leaders since the Oct. 7 attacks.
On Saturday, Erdogan’s office said the two leaders discussed Israel’s interest in “Palestinian lands, mainly the Gaza Strip; what measures need to be taken to allow humanitarian aid to reach Gaza fully and uninterruptedly.”
After the meeting, Erdogan told reporters that he would take every opportunity to draw attention to the suffering in Gaza and hoped that Israel would eventually be held accountable.
“One day, Israel will definitely pay the price for the atrocities it has committed against the Palestinians,” Erdogan told reporters.
early Saturday, 1 person died and 8 people were injured An explosion occurred at a military base in Iraq’s Babylon province used by the Iran-backed armed group Harakat al Nujaba, according to the Iraqi military command.
No one immediately claimed responsibility for the strike.
In a carefully worded statement, the Iraqi military did not attribute the explosion to a missile or drone strike. However, military officials said privately that at least one shell appeared to have hit the perimeter of the base. Video taken shortly after the explosion and posted on social media showed damage to the building and a large crater filled with rubble. A second video showed several parts of the base on fire.
The US military, which has previously carried out strikes against Iranian-backed armed groups in Iraq, said in a statement It was not involved in attacks anywhere in Iraq shortly after the attack. The Israeli military declined to comment.
Liam Stark, Raja Abdul Rahim and Alyssa J. Rubin Contributed reporting.
