Israel hits Iran with retaliatory airstrike

The strike was “part of a cycle of retaliation that has alarmed world leaders”

(Image credit: Fatemeh Bahrami / Anadolu via Getty Images)

What happened

Israel carried out an airstrike inside Iran early Friday, U.S., Israeli and Iranian officials said. The limited attack was “intended to signal to Iran that Israel had the ability to strike inside the country” after Iran’s drone and missile barrage last weekend, said The Washington Post, citing Israeli officials. Iranian officials said Israel hit a military air base near Isfahan, The New York Times said, though “the scale and method of the attack were unclear.”

Who said what

Iranian Gen. Siavash Mihandoust said the blasts heard in Isfahan were “air defense firing at a suspicious object,” and there was no “damage or incident” in the city or its nearby nuclear facility. Iranian cyberspace command spokesperson Hossein Dalirian claimed there was “no air attack from outside” Iran’s borders. The U.S. was given advance notice of an attack but “didn’t endorse this response,” a U.S. official told CNN. Israel’s military declined to comment.

Friday’s strike was “part of a cycle of retaliation that has alarmed world leaders,” but it “produced a largely muted response” from Iran and Israel, the Times said. “Israel can do elegant military maneuvers that are not noisy or cause significant military damage but which deliver the message Israel wants,” analyst Dana Weiss said on Israel’s Channel 12.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week’s Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

What next?

It depends on “whether that is the end of Israel’s attack and whether Iran now decides to attack back,” the BBC’s Frank Gardner said.

To continue reading this article…

Create a free account

Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.

Already have an account? Sign in

Subscribe to The Week

Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.

Cancel or pause at any time.

Already a subscriber to The Week?

Unlimited website access is included with Digital and Print + Digital subscriptions.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.

Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us

A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site’s launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.  

>>> Read full article>>>
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source : The Week – https://www.theweek.com/politics/israel-iran-retaliatory-strike