It's Iran's move now The Associated Press by Adam Schreck Asia-Pacific news director 28 October 2024
Iran's third direct retaliation against Israel
Extracts: A carefully worded statement from Iran’s military Saturday night appeared to offer some wiggle room for the Islamic Republic to back away from further escalation
It suggested that a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon was more important than any retaliation against Israel
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s ultimate decision-maker, was also measured in his first comments on the strike Sunday Khamenei said,
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“the [Israeli] attack should not be exaggerated nor downplayed”
but Khamenei stopped short of calling for an immediate military response
Saturday’s strikes targeted Iranian air defense missile batteries and missile production facilities, according to the Israeli military With that, Israel has exposed vulnerabilities in Iran’s air defenses and can now more easily step up its attacks, analysts say
Satellite photos analyzed by The Associated Press indicate Israel’s raid damaged facilities at the Parchin military base southeast of Tehran that experts previously linked to Iran’s onetime nuclear weapons program and another base tied to its ballistic missile program However current nuclear sites were not struck
Rafael Mariano Grossi, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, confirmed that on X, saying
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“Iran’s nuclear facilities have not been impacted”
Israel has been aggressively bringing the fight to the Iranian-backed militant group Hezbollah, killing its leader and targeting operatives in an audacious exploding pager attack
