International calls for calm after Israel hits Iranian military sites

Global leaders called for calm on Saturday following Israel's retaliatory attacks on military sites across Iran, as Israel and Hezbollah exchanged renewed fire across the Lebanese border.

Israel launched a widely-anticipated attack on Iran early on Saturday, during which it said it conducted "precise strikes" on military targets.

Iranian state news agency IRNA said that four soldiers were killed in the attack while defending Iranian airspace, after earlier reports of two casualties.

The targets in Saturday's attacks - which came weeks after Tehran launched almost 200 ballistic missiles at Israel on October 1 - included missile production facilities, ground-to-air missile systems and air defence systems, Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesman Daniel Hagari said.

Iranian military leaders claimed that Israeli jets did not breach the country's airspace on Saturday.

A statement from the Iranian general staff circulating on state media said that Israel's air force fired long-range missiles at targets in Iran near the border with Iraq.

The generals said that damage was "limited and minor" but reiterated that Iran reserves the right "to an appropriate response at an appropriate time."

Iranian state media reported explosions near the capital, Tehran, which is home to 15 to 20 million people. Early in the morning, explosions could also be heard in the city centre and anti-aircraft fire was visible.

Hagari warned Iran not to escalate the situation further, saying that if it did, Israel would be "obliged to respond."

But in Tehran, the Iranian Foreign Ministry said the country is "entitled and obliged to defend itself" after the strikes.


US President Joe Biden on Saturday told reporters in Philadelphia that he had spoken to representatives of the secret services and learned that the attacks were limited to military targets.

"I was on with the intelligence community for the last half hour. It looks like they didn't hit anything other than military targets. I hope that this is the end," Biden said.

He also confirmed that he had been informed about the attacks in advance, as previously reported by US media.


Several Arab states criticized Israel's strikes amid concerns about escalation in the region.

Saudi Arabia said it condemns the military targeting of Iran and called the attack a "violation of its sovereignty and a violation of international law."

Last year, Saudi Arabia and its regional rival Iran, which supported opposing sides of the conflicts in Yemen and Syria, agreed in a China-brokered deal to restore ties after a rupture of seven years.

In a statement, the oil-rich monarchy urged all parties to exercise the utmost restraint and warned of the "consequences of continuing military conflicts" in the region.

Calling the attack a "blatant violation" of Iran's sovereignty, Qatar also voiced "extreme concern" over potential "dangerous" consequences and called for restraint.

Qatar, the United States and Egypt have been mediating for months between Israel and the Palestinian militant Hamas movement in an attempt to clinch a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal.

The United Arab Emirates and Oman, two other Gulf countries, condemned the Israeli attack too.

Iraq, home to Iran-aligned militias, also blasted the Israeli strikes and expressed solidarity with neighbouring Iran.

"Iraq has previously warned of the severe consequences resulting from the international community's silence on the brutal actions of the Zionist entity [Israel], including its attacks against our people in Palestine, Lebanon, Syria, and now this new aggression against Iran," a government spokesman said in an online statement.

Iran's new Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi visited several Arab countries just days ago, promoting diplomacy in the region.

Condemnation also came from the Taliban government in Afghanistan, which said the Israeli attack was a violation of sovereignty and a potential catalyst for increased regional tension.

European countries meanwhile urged restraint. "Iran should not respond," said British Prime Minister Keir Starmer during a visit to Samoa. "We will continue to work with allies to de-escalate the situation in the region."

France also expressed concern in a statement from the Foreign Ministry: "France urgently calls on the parties to refrain from any escalation and action that could worsen the extreme tension in the region."

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz echoed the statements. "This should not go on and on, with massive escalatory reactions taking place now, but it has to come to an end now so that an opportunity for peaceful development in the Middle East can be opened up," he said.

Scholz said the most important measure now would be for the proposals for a ceasefire in Gaza and for the release of the hostages held there to be accepted by all parties.

Regarding the fighting between Israel and the Iran-backed Shiite militia Hezbollah, he called on the militia to withdraw behind the Litani River in accordance with UN Resolution 1701.

The German government's crisis management team meanwhile said it is "closely monitoring further developments" and would meet at the Foreign Office on Saturday to discuss the situation in the Middle East.