Israel’s military says it is hitting Iran with retaliatory strikes

• The Israeli military says it is carrying out “precise strikes” on Iranian military targets.
• The strikes are long-anticipated retaliation for an Iranian missile barrage earlier this month.
• Iran fired over 180 ballistic missiles at Israel on October 1. The attack followed another in April.

The Israeli military said Friday night (Saturday morning local time) that it is carrying out “precise strikes” on military targets in Iran, executing a long-awaited retaliation for an Iranian missile barrage earlier this month.

“In response to months of continuous attacks from the regime in Iran against the State of Israel—right now the Israel Defense Forces is conducting precise strikes on military targets in Iran,” IDF spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said.

“The regime in Iran and its proxies in the region have been relentlessly attacking Israel since October 7th—on seven fronts—including direct attacks from Iranian soil,” Hagari said. “Like every other sovereign country in the world, the State of Israel has the right and the duty to respond.”

“Our defensive and offensive capabilities are fully mobilized,” he added.

Iranian state media has reported explosions in different parts of the country, including the capital, Tehran, per Axios, which first reported the strikes were occurring.

The Pentagon and US Central Command did not respond to requests for comment from Business Insider.

Iran attacked Israel with more than 180 ballistic missiles on October 1 in retaliation for the killings of Hamas and Hezbollah leaders. Ismail Haniyeh, the leader of Hamas’ political wing, was assassinated in Tehran in July, and Israel killed Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah, in an airstrike in Beirut in late September. The majority of the munitions lobbed at Israel in early October were shot down, though some managed to penetrate Israel’s vaunted air-defense network.

The October 1 attack followed an April barrage, during which Iran fired more than 300 missiles and drones at Israel. Nearly all of the threats were shot down by Israel and partner forces.

Israeli officials have repeatedly said in the weeks since the early October barrage that the country would retaliate over the missile barrage, constantly signaling that a response was imminent.