Several explosions have been heard in the vicinity of the Iranian capital city of Tehran, the state-run Fars News reports on its official Telegram channel.
Daniel Hagari, spokesman of the Israel Defense Forces, said in a statement posted on social media that Israel is “conducting precise strikes on military targets in Iran.”
Explosions were also reported in the nearby city of Karaj, home to a nuclear research center.
The war between Iran and Israel has come out of the shadows this year, with each country engaging in direct attacks.
- On April 1, an Israeli airstrike on an Iranian diplomatic facility in Damascus, Syria, killed senior commanders of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)
- In response, on April 13, Iran fired ballistic and cruise missiles, along with attack drones at Israel.
- On July 31, Israel assassinated Ismail Haniyeh, the senior political leader of Hamas, in Tehran. Then, on September 27, Israel killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut along with Abbas Nilforushan, a senior commander of the IRGC’s Quds Force.
- On October 1, Iran launched a barrage of 200 missiles at Israel, some of which struck an Israeli military base in Nevatim.
What remains to be seen is whether Iran’s attacks in the twilight hours in Tehran will be viewed as escalatory by Iran and raise the prospects for further Iranian retaliation or a widening of the war to include Gulf Arab states and the United States.
The U.S. has deployed troops to Israel to operate an anti-ballistic missile defense system known as Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD).
This is a breaking news story and will be updated.
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