Israel's military hit back at Iran with retaliatory strikes

• The Israeli military said it carried out "precise strikes" on Iranian military targets.
• The strikes were a 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 it carried out "precise strikes" on military targets in Iran on Saturday, executing a long-awaited retaliation for an Iranian missile barrage earlier this month.

"I can now confirm that we have concluded the Israeli response to Iran's attacks against Israel. We conducted targeted and precise strikes on military targets in Iran — thwarting immediate threats to the State of Israel," IDF spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said.

Hagari added that Israel would be "obligated to respond" should Iran launch a further round of attacks.

Iran's IRNA state news agency said "sounds resembling explosions" were heard across Iran, including in the capital, Tehran.

It reported that Iranian air defenses had successfully "intercepted and countered" the strikes.

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

In a press conference hosted after Israel's strikes against Iran concluded, a senior US administration official said the US was not a participant in the planning or execution of the retaliatory operation.

However, the US official said President Joe Biden and his national security team worked with the Israelis in recent weeks to "encourage Israel to conduct a response that was targeted and proportional with low risk of civilian harm."

"The President discussed the overall situation with Prime Minister Netanyahu," the US official said. "Last week, he encouraged the Minister to design a response that served to deter further attacks against Israel while reducing risk of further escalation. And that is our objective. It's Israel's objective as well, as they have stated this evening. Should Iran choose to respond, we are fully prepared to once again defend against any attack."

Neither Hagari nor the US official identified specific Iranian targets that were struck in Israel's operations.

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.