The Israeli airstrikes on Iran that were launched Saturday morning killed four Iranian soldiers, members of Iran’s Air Defense Force.
The Iranian Army said in a statement that the soldiers lost their lives “while confronting the projectiles of the criminal Zionist regime in order to safeguard the security of Iran and prevent harm to the Iranian nation and interests.”
The Iranian military said the Israeli attack hit bases in three Iranian provinces: Ilam, Khuzestan, and Tehran. The New York Times and other Western media outlets reported that the Israeli strikes destroyed several air defense systems, but the Iranian military only confirmed that some radar systems were damaged and said it successfully countered the attack.
“Thanks to the timely performance of the country’s air defenses, the attacks caused limited damage, and a few radar systems were damaged,” the Iranian military said, according to Al Jazeera.
It’s unclear at this point if Iran will retaliate and launch another missile attack on Israel. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Sunday that Iran doesn’t seek war but warned there would be some sort of response.
“We do not seek war but we will defend the rights of our nation and country,” Pezeshkian said. He added that Iran “will give an appropriate response to the aggression of the Zionist regime.”
Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei said Iranian officials will determine how to respond. “How to convey this power and resolve of the Iranian nation to the Zionist regime is for our officials to determine, and what is in the best interest of the nation and the country should be done,” he said.
The US has backed Israel’s attack on Iran, saying it has the right to “self-defense.” Pentagon officials told NBC News there was no direct US involvement in the strikes, but the US did support the attack by deploying a THAAD air defense system to Israel, vowing to defend Israel from any retaliation, and continuing to supply military aid.
The Israeli attack came after Iran fired nearly 200 ballistic missiles at Israel on October 1 in response to a series of Israeli escalations in the region, including the killing of Hamas’s political chief, Ismail Haniyeh, while he was visiting Tehran. The Iranian attack killed one Palestinian in the West Bank, who was hit by shrapnel, and damaged some Iranian military sites.
