Maximum alert in the Middle East: Iran affirms its “duty to defend itself” after Israeli bombings

Iran affirmed this Saturday that it has the “duty to defend itself” after the Israeli bombings launched at dawn against military installations, a new episode of violence between these two enemy countries that raises fears of a military escalation in the Middle East.

Israel announced for the first time publicly that it attacked Iran, carrying out “precision strikes” at dawn against missile manufacturing and launching facilities, in response to the Iranian attack on October 1 against Israeli territory.

>>> Update: Will Iran respond to Israeli attacks? This is what the Armed Forces said

The attack left four soldiers dead, according to the latest army report, which assured that only “radar systems” were damaged. Previously, the armed forces reported two deaths from the attack.

The bombings occurred in a context of high tension in the region. Israel wages war against the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas in the Gaza Strip and against the Islamist group Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Both groups are backed by Iran, Israel’s arch-enemy, and are part of the so-called “Axis of Resistance.”

“Iran believes that it has the right and duty to defend itself against foreign acts of aggression,” the Iranian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

“Our determination to defend ourselves has no limits,” declared Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi.

For its part, Hezbollah called the attack a “dangerous escalation” in the region and stated that the United States bears “full responsibility.”

The bombings were carried out “in response to months of continuous attacks,” Israel said

The Iranian army acknowledged attacks against military bases in the provinces of Tehran, Khuzestan (southwest) and Ilam (west).

Israel said it carried out the bombings “in response to months of continuous attacks” by the Islamic Republic.

“The Iranian regime and its allies in the region have not stopped attacking Israel since October 7,” 2023, the army said, referring to the deadly attack by Hamas on Israeli soil, which sparked the war in Gaza.

With these bombings, Israeli forces claimed to have “completed the response to Iran’s attacks on Israel.”

Israel’s response to the attack by Tehran, which launched nearly 200 projectiles against its territory at the beginning of the month, has been expected for weeks.

The Islamic Republic He presented his attack as a response to the Israeli bombings against Lebanon that cost the lives of an Iranian general and the head of Hezbollah, Hasan Nasrallah. at the end of September, and the murder on Iranian soil at the end of July of the then leader of Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh, accused of Israel.

Israeli military spokesman Daniel Hagari warned on Saturday that if Tehran began “a new round of escalation,” they would be “forced to respond” and would be made to pay “a high price.”

“We have a historic obligation to eliminate the Iranian threat to destroy Israel,” said the Minister of National Security, the far-right Itamar Ben Gvir.

In the Iranian capital, Hooman, A 42-year-old worker who preferred not to give his last name told AFP that he was working when he heard explosions.

“It was a terrible, frightening noise,” he said. “Now that there is a war in the Middle East, we are afraid of being dragged into it,” he added.

The media coup that threatens the security and stability of countries and peoples

USA, Israel’s main diplomatic and military support, indicated that he was previously informed of the attack and the White House considered it an action of “self-defense” by Israel.

The situation “threatens the security and stability of the countries and people” of the Middle East, Saudi Arabia warned.

The Secretary General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, said he was “deeply alarmed” by the escalation of violence, according to his spokesman Stéphane Dujarric.

Spain asked to “stop the increase in violence”, France urged to “refrain from any escalation” and the United Kingdom estimated that “Iran should not respond” to the bombings.

However, According to several experts, the objective of the attack was to demonstrate Israel’s offensive capabilities while avoiding escalation.

For Hasni Abidi, director of the Center for Studies and Research on the Arab and Mediterranean World (Cermam), Israel carried out, under pressure from the United States, “a media and political coup, and not a military one.”

70 Hezbollah targets in response to September 30 attack

On the Lebanese front, the Israeli army reported “80 projectiles” fired by Hezbollah from Lebanon.

It also announced having bombed 70 Hezbollah targets in Lebanon, where they launched a ground operation on September 30 after intensifying their bombing.

AFP

After having weakened Hamas in Gaza, the Israeli army shifted the bulk of its operations to southern Lebanon, where Hezbollah and the Israeli army had been fighting since October 8, 2023. That day, the Shiite movement began firing rockets into Israeli territory in support of Hamas.

But since October 6 of this year, Israeli forces resumed their offensive in northern Gaza where they say Hamas is regrouping.

The conflict in the Palestinian territory was triggered after the incursion of Islamist militiamen on October 7, 2023 in southern Israel, where they killed 1,206 people, mainly civilians, and kidnapped 251, according to an AFP count based on official data. Israelis and which includes the hostages killed in captivity.

Of the 251 people kidnapped, 97 remain captive in Gaza, but 34 of them were declared dead by the army.

In response to that attack, Israel launched an offensive against Hamas, which governs Gaza, which has already cost the lives of 42,924 Palestinians, mostly civilians, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health, considered reliable by the UN.