US warns of ‘consequences’ if Iran responds to Israel’s latest attacks

The White House has said Israel’s overnight strikes on Iran should end the direct exchange of fire between the two countries while warning Tehran of “consequences” should it respond.

A senior White House official said the administration believed the Israeli operation should “close out” the direct military exchange between Israel and Iran, saying other allies were in agreement.

United States President Joe Biden was updated on Friday as the operation was developing and by his national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, as the operation was carried out by the Israelis, the official said.

Secretary of defence Lloyd J Austin spoke with Israeli minister of defence Yoav Gallant to receive updates and reaffirmed the commitment of the US to Israel’s security and right to self-defence.

The official, who briefed reporters on the condition of anonymity under ground rules set by the White House, said the Israeli operation “was extensive, it was targeted, it was precise.” The official underscored that the US had no involvement in the strike.

Israel pounded Iran with a series of airstrikes early on Saturday, saying it was targeting military sites in retaliation for the barrage of ballistic missiles Iram fired upon Israel earlier this month.

Explosions could be heard in the Iranian capital Tehran, although the Islamic Republic insisted they caused only “limited damage.”

Israel’s hours-long attack ended just before sunrise in Tehran, with the Israeli military saying it targeted “missile manufacturing facilities used to produce the missiles that Iran fired at the state of Israel over the last year.”

It also said it hit surface-to-air missile sites and “additional Iranian aerial capabilities”.

“The Israel Defence Forces has fulfilled its mission,” Mr Hagari said in a later video.

“If the regime in Iran were to make the mistake of beginning a new round of escalation, we will be obligated to respond.”

Israel offered no initial damage assessment.

“The regime in Iran and its proxies in the region have been relentlessly attacking Israel since October 7… including direct attacks from Iranian soil,” Israeli military spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said in a pre-recorded video statement.

“Like every other sovereign country in the world, the state of Israel has the right and the duty to respond.”

Iran’s military said the strikes targeted military bases in Ilam, Khuzestan and Tehran provinces and caused “limited damage,” without elaborating.

Iran’s state-run media acknowledged blasts that could be heard in Tehran and said some of the sounds came from air defence systems around the city.

But beyond a brief reference, Iranian state television for hours offered no other details and even began showing what it described as live footage of men loading trucks at a vegetable market in Tehran in an apparent attempt to downplay the assault.

Iran closed the country’s airspace early Saturday, and flight-tracking data showed commercial airlines had broadly left the skies over Iran, and across Iraq, Syria and Lebanon.

In Syria, the state news agency SANA, citing an unnamed military official, reported missile fire targeting military sites in the country’s central and southern regions.

It said that Syria’s air defences had shot some of the missiles down. There was no immediate information on casualties.