October 26, 2024
Israel relayed a
warning to Iran through several third parties ahead of its missile strike
against the Islamic Republic on Saturday, Axios has reported, citing three
anonymous sources. According to the media outlet, West Jerusalem indicated what
type of targets it would attack, while cautioning Tehran against retaliating.
A view of Ferdowsi Square in downtown Tehran on October 26, after the Israeli attacks across Iran [Maziar Motamedi/Al Jazeera]
Early on
Saturday, IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari reported that Israeli forces were
conducting “precise strikes on military targets” in Iran. The operation,
reportedly codenamed ‘Days of Repentance,’ was being launched “in response to
months of continuous attacks from the regime in Iran against the State of
Israel,” he clarified.
The “Israelis
made it clear to the Iranians in advance what they are going to attack in
general and what they are not going to attack,” Axios reported. The US
media outlet asserted that this reflected an “attempt to limit the ongoing
exchange of attacks between Israel and Iran and prevent a wider escalation.”
According to the
report, Israel also warned the Islamic Republic against responding to its
attack, threatening a more devastating strike if Tehran does retaliate.
Axios claimed
that Dutch Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp was one of the channels used by
Israel to convey its message to Iran. In a post on X (formerly Twitter) on
Friday, the diplomat confirmed that he had spoken “with the Iranian Foreign
Minister about war and the heightened tensions in the region.” He added
that he had urged Tehran to exercise restraint.
“IAF aircraft
struck missile manufacturing facilities used to produce the missiles that Iran
fired at the State of Israel over the last year,” according to an
IDF statement. Moreover, the Jewish State claims to have struck the Islamic
Republic’s surface-to-air missile capabilities.
Iran reopened
its airspace at 9am local time (6am GMT), with the country’s National Air
Defense Headquarters reporting that Israel’s “provocative” attack had
resulted in “limited damage… in certain areas,” and that a more detailed
assessment was still underway.
“The country’s
integrated air defense system successfully intercepted and countered this
aggressive action,”
officials in Tehran asserted.
On October 1,
Iran fired nearly 200 ballistic missiles at Israel in response to the killing
of the Hamas and Hezbollah leaders as well as an Islamic Revolutionary Guard
Corps (IRGC) general.
Maziar
Motamedi
Tehran,
Iran – Thousands of Iranians in Tehran were jolted awake by the sound of
explosions in the early hours of Saturday as Israel attacked.
“I
heard about 10 booms in relatively quick succession,” said Ali, a 32-year-old
who lives in western Tehran, where the first booms were heard after 2am (22:30
GMT on Friday).
Iranians
got on social media to report hearing explosions all over the city and some
surrounding areas.
By
the time the second round of attacks hit a few hours later, videos were
circulating online showing air defenses being activated to counter incoming
threats.
“Not
that it was unexpected, but it was stressful anyway. We were up till morning
with family checking the news, and we were talking with colleagues in our
Telegram channels and looking for details,” said Ali, who asked his surname to
be withheld.
Echoes
of war
In
Tehran and elsewhere across the country, life mostly continued as normal on
Saturday, the first day of the working week in Iran.
Traffic
was normal in different areas of the capital and other affected cities.
Some
people, however, were caught up in the immediate effect of the sense of danger
and uncertainty due to an attack on the country, which has not seen all-out war
on its soil since neighboring Iraq invaded it in the 1980s.
“The
local market was selling everything 30-40 percent more expensive than it was
just a week ago… but I expect things will calm down by tomorrow or the next few
days,” said a 65-year-old resident of the northern province of Gilan.
A
computer salesman at a downtown Tehran shop said the currency’s turbulence also
presented a challenge.
“It’s
been tough with the constant rate flux and price changes for more than a month
now, it’s bad for business. I really hope we can avoid a war for everyone’s
sake, especially in this economy,” he told Al Jazeera.
While
the Iranian rial stayed relatively stable since the onset of Israel’s war on
Gaza, it became shaky amid increasing concerns of an all-out regional war.
Recently,
it fell from about 600,000 to the dollar a month ago to a high of about 690,000
earlier this week, then regained some lost ground in the aftermath of the
Israeli attack to reach about 660,000.
With
the central bank pumping currency to tame the market, state-linked media
expressed hope on Saturday that the rial could strengthen to its range last
month.
Gold
coins also dropped about 5 percent in value during trading on Saturday, and the
Iranian stock market was mostly a sea of green after the conclusion of the
Israeli strikes – which ended up appearing tamer than originally threatened by
Israeli leaders.
‘Limited
damage’
After
weeks of speculation that Israel could target Iranian energy infrastructure,
authorities said there were no strikes on major refineries, power stations,
natural gas lines, or sensitive nuclear sites.
There
have been no threats of direct or immediate retaliation from Iranian
authorities so far.
The
Israeli attack was expected, in retaliation for Iran’s launch of some 200
ballistic missiles at Israel on October 1, although the extent is still
unclear.
Iran
said the attacks targeted military sites in Tehran and the western provinces of
Ilam and Khuzestan, and that air defenses worked well, resulting in “limited
damage”.
Two
soldiers were killed in the attack, according to a statement by Iranian armed
forces.
On
the same day, 10 Iranian border guards were killed in an armed attack on a
police convoy in the southeastern province of Sistan and Balochistan.
Responsibility
was claimed by the Jaish al-Adl armed separatist group, which Tehran considers
to be a “terrorist” group with links to Israel.
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