Middle-East Tensions: With 100 Fighter Jets, Israel Launches 'Precise Strikes'; Iran Says 'Limited Damage'

Further intensifying the restive political scenario of the Middle East, Israel Defense Forces (IDF) on early Saturday launched fresh airstrikes as a retaliatory move against Iran's October 1 ballistic missile assault.

However, the Israeli military on Saturday also issued a statement saying its planes “have safely returned home” following the completion of the strikes. According to the official statement, the Israeli aircraft “struck missile manufacturing facilities used to produce the missiles that Iran fired at the state of Israel over the last year.”

Commenting on the impact of the Israeli air strikes that reportedly caused “limited damage”, Iran's military said that Israel targeted military bases in Ilam, Khuzestan and Tehran provinces.

As per reports, Israel deployed a total of 100 fighter jets to carry out the attacks in three waves on 20 missile and drone facilities of Iran. Israel Defence Forces (IDF) deployed its fifth generation F-35 Adir fighter jets, F-15I Ra'am ground attack jets, and F-16I Sufa air defense jets that covered a distance of over 2,000 kilometers this time to launch the attack on Iran.

Describing the attack as 'precise strikes on military targets in Iran', IDF said, "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."

"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. 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. We will do whatever necessary to defend the State of Israel and the people of Israel", IDF further added.

As per Iran's srate-run media reports, sounds of explosions could be heard from Iranian capital Tehran. According to the Associated Press, a resident of the capital city, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said at least seven explosions could be heard, which rattled the surrounding area.

Iran's ballistic attacks on Israel

Israel's today' strikes came as a retaliation to Iran's two ballistic missile attacks on Israel in recent months amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip.

The strike happened just as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was arriving back in the US after a tour of the Middle East where he and other US officials had warned Israel to tender a response that would not further escalate the conflict in the region and exclude nuclear sites in Iran.

Iran's offensive was in response to Israel's deadly attacks against its proxy Hezbollah in Lebanon. Israel had vowed to hit Iran hard following the massive attack.

Earlier, in April, in another round of attack, Iran fired a wave of missiles and drones at Israel last April after two Iranian generals were killed in an apparent Israeli airstrike in Syria's Damascus.

The Israel-Iran feud

Israel and Iran have been bitter foes since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Israel considers Iran to be its greatest threat, citing its leaders' calls for Israel's destruction, their support for anti-Israel militant groups and the country's nuclear programme.

Israel and Iran have been locked in a yearslong shadow war. A suspected Israeli assassination campaign has killed top Iranian nuclear scientists. Iranian nuclear installations have been hacked or sabotaged, all in mysterious attacks blamed on Israel. Meanwhile, Iran has been blamed for a series of attacks on shipping in the Middle East in recent years, which later grew into the attacks by Yemen's Houthi rebels on shipping through the Red Sea corridor.

But since Hamas' Oct. 7 attack, the battle has increasingly moved into the open. Israel has recently turned its attention to Hezbollah, which has been firing rockets into Israel since the war in Gaza began. Throughout the year, a number of top Iranian military figures have been killed in Israeli strikes in Syria and Lebanon.