New Delhi: Israel said it launched a “pre-emptive attack” against Iran Saturday.
In a statement, Defence Minister Israel Katz said, “The State of Israel launched a pre-emptive attack against Iran to remove threats to the State of Israel.”
The strike, which follows a 12-day air war between the two countries in June, comes after repeated warnings from the US and Israel that they would act if Tehran continued to advance its nuclear and ballistic-missile programmes. Explosions were heard in Tehran on Saturday, Iranian media reported, a development that risks dragging the region back into open conflict and further dims prospects for a diplomatic settlement of Iran’s long-running nuclear dispute with the West.
The US and Iran had resumed negotiations in February in an effort to resolve the dispute through diplomacy and avert a military confrontation that could destabilise the region.
The Israeli Defence Forces meanwhile have moved the country to an “essential activity” footing, a civil-defence posture that effectively closes schools, restricts public gatherings and limits workplaces to services deemed necessary, and ordered the public to stay close to protected spaces.
Israel Defense Forces said these changes to the Home Front Command guidelines take immediate effect and will be published on official channels; the measure is a precautionary shift designed to reduce civilian exposure and keep critical services running while the security situation is assessed.
At the same time, sirens and advance mobile alerts were issued across the country warning of the possibility of incoming missiles, a move that underlines official expectations of swift Iranian retaliation after the strikes on Tehran.
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