Israel strikes on Iran kill two soldiers, Iran says

[Pelican Press 0]

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

******* strikes on Iran ***** two soldiers, Iran says

******** strikes on Iran, in retaliation for Iran’s missile attacks earlier this month, have ******* two Iranian soldiers, according to a statement from the Iranian army.

The ******* Defense Forces (IDF) said it targeted missile factories and other sites near Tehran and western Iran early on Saturday.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry said it has a responsibility to defend itself, but added that Iran “recognises its responsibilities towards regional peace and security,” a statement viewed as relatively conciliatory.

******** retaliation for an Iranian barrage of almost 200 ballistic missiles fired towards ******* on 1 October had been widely expected for weeks.

Tehran had said the ******* was in retaliation for the ******** of ******’s political leader Ismail Haniyeh on Iranian soil in July. Many missiles were shot down by ******* and its allies but a small number struck central and southern *******.

Iranian authorities said sites in Tehran, Khuzestan and Ilam provinces were attacked. The military claimed that the attacks had been successfully countered, although there was “limited damage” in some locations.

Following the ******** strikes, Iranian state media carried footage showing traffic flowing normally in several cities, while school and sports activities were reportedly being held as scheduled.

The ******** military announced Saturday’s operation shortly after explosions were reported in Iran. IDF spokesperson Rear Adm Daniel Hagari said the military had demonstrated its preparedness “to defend the state of *******”.

He also warned if Iran started a new round of escalation, ******* would be “obliged to respond”.

The US and Britain have both urged Iran not to strike back following the latest strikes, with President Joe Biden’s administration calling for an end to the cycle of *********.

Senior US administration officials said the US was informed of *******’s strikes beforehand, and that Washington had no involvement in them.

The attacks did not include Iranian oil infrastructure or nuclear facilities – targets the Biden administration had urged ******* not to hit – an official said.

The official said the US had encouraged ******* for weeks to conduct a response that was “targeted and proportional with low risk of civilian harm” and suggested that was “precisely what transpired” on Saturday evening.

*** Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said ******* had the right to defend itself against “Iranian aggression” and echoed calls for Iran to avoid retaliation, saying the *** would work to “de-escalate the situation across the region”.

But Russia and other countries in the region, including US allies Jordan and Saudi Arabia, accused ******* of escalating the conflict.

Qatar expressed “deep concern about the serious repercussions that may result from this escalation”, while Jordan described the ******* as a “dangerous escalation”.

Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said “what is needed is to stop provoking Iran to retaliate, and to get out of the spiral of uncontrollable escalation”.

The extent of the ******** strikes and their precise targets were still unclear on Saturday morning.

Iran’s aviation authority briefly suspended flights but announced that they would restart from 09:00 local time (06:30 BST).

Hooman, a 42-year-old factory employee, was working in Tehran when he heard the blasts, he told news agency AFP.

“It was an echoing sound… terrible and horrifying,” the agency quoted him as saying. “Now that there is war in the Middle East, we are afraid that we will be dragged into it.”

******** air strikes also targeted sites in central and southern Syria, Syrian state media reported.

Following the ******** strikes, Hezbollah fired 80 projectiles across the border into ******* on Saturday afternoon, according to the IDF.

Later, AFP news agency reported the Iran-backed group fired a series of rockets at five residential areas in northern *******, including the outskirts of Krayot near Haifa.

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

#******* #strikes #Iran #***** #soldiers #Iran

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up