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In his first response to Saturday’s Israeli attack on Iran’s military installations, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei struck a cautious tone, refraining from an outright call for retaliation.
“The malicious act by the Zionist regime two nights ago should neither be exaggerated nor underestimated. The Zionist regime’s miscalculations must be disrupted, and the power, will, and initiative of the Iranian nation and its youth must be made clear to them,” Khamenei stated.
Despite being Iran’s commander-in-chief with control over security and foreign policy, Khamenei appeared to distance himself from decisions on a potential response. According to Tasnim News, which is affiliated with the Revolutionary Guard, Khamenei emphasized, “It is up to the officials to determine how best to convey the strength and resolve of the Iranian nation to the Zionist regime, and whatever is in the best interest of this nation and country should be carried out.”
Commercial satellite imagery showed that Israeli airstrikes hit buildings during an attack on Saturday that Iran used for mixing solid fuel for ballistic missiles, according to separate assessments by two American researchers.
The judgments were reached by David Albright, a former UN weapons inspector who heads the Institute for Science and International Security research group, and Decker Eveleth, an associate research analyst at CNA, a Washington think tank.
They told Reuters separately that Israel struck Parchin, a massive military complex near Tehran. Israel also hit Khojir, according to Eveleth, a sprawling missile production site near Tehran.
Reuters reported in July that Khojir was undergoing massive expansion.
Eveleth said the Israeli strikes may have "significantly hampered Iran's ability to mass produce missiles."
A Hebrew caption on a new mural installed in Tehran's Palestine Square reads, 'Another storm is coming,' according to images published by Iran's state-run media, hours after Israeli airstrikes against multiple Iranian military sites.
The first 'storm' is believed to refer to the October 7 attack launched by Iran-backed Hamas militants, during which around 1,200 Israelis were killed. That operation was dubbed 'Al-Aqsa Storm' or 'Al-Aqsa Flood'.
US Vice President Kamala Harris on Saturday reaffirmed her country's desire for de-escalation following Israeli airstrike against Iran.
“We're also very adamant that we must see de-escalation in the region going forward, and that will be our focus,” she said, telling reporters she just discussed the issue with Biden and their national security aides.
“Of course, we maintain the importance of supporting Israel’s right to defend itself.”
Israeli F-35 fighters entered Iran's airspace for the first time in raids earlier on Saturday, an informed Israeli source told Iran International, adding that they flew over Tehran and bombed targets in the area.
The General Staff of Iran's Armed Forces had earlier said in a statement that Israeli aircraft used the airspace provided by the US military in Iraq to launch several long-range air-launched missiles towards some border radars in the provinces of Ilam, Khuzestan, and around Tehran province.
Israel launched the airstrikes in the early hours of Saturday in retaliation for Tehran's October 1 missile barrage, which Iran called a response to the Israeli assassinations of Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran and Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut, among others.
The Israeli airstrikes only targeted Iran's military sites and facilities, following weeks of US efforts to dissuade Israel from targeting nuclear and energy infrastructure in Iran in a bid to avoid further escalation of conflict in the volatile region.
US President Joe Biden on Saturday said it appeared Israel had only struck military targets in its attack on Iran, and that he hoped they were "the end."
The Israeli attacks killed at least four Iranian army personnel, including two officers working in the missile unit, according to IRGC-affiliated Tasnim News.
Air defenses, missile program component hit by Israel
"Four S-300 air defense batteries that were in strategic locations and protected Tehran and nuclear and energy facilities in Iran were attacked," Axios quoted the sources as saying, confirming an earlier report by The New York Times about Israel's targeting of the Russian-made defense system.
The report also said that 12 'planetary mixers' that are a critical component in Iran's ballistic missile program were attacked in the Israeli air raids. "The planetary mixers are used to produce solid fuel for long-range ballistic missiles, and their destruction severely damages Iran's ability to renew its missile stockpile," the report explained.
The Israeli sources speaking to Axios said that the mixers are highly sophisticated equipment that Iran cannot produce on its own and must purchase it in China. "Remanufacturing of the mixers could take at least a year."
Iran downplaying the Israeli attack
The General Staff of Iran's Armed Forces says the Israeli attacks resulted in "limited and minimal" damage thanks to the "timely performance of the country's air defense." It acknowledged damages to several radar systems, saying that some of the radars were immediately repaired, while others are in the process of being repaired.
Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Saturday that Tehran "has no limits in defending its interests and territorial integrity, and we will defend not just every inch but every centimeter of our land.
Speaking in an interview with the official website of Iran's Supreme Leader, Araghchi emphasized that the Iranian government will continue its policy of confronting Israel with determination but refrained from talking of revenge or retaliation.
"The Islamic Republic is trying to downplay the intensity of Israel's attacks... Essentially, the idea of revenge has been removed from the political rhetoric of its leaders, and they are not looking to show a reaction," political analyst Jamshid Barzegar told Iran International.
The recent Israeli attack appears to be a "temporary endpoint" to the tensions between the two countries, and we are unlikely to see any direct confrontation between them until the upcoming US elections, he added.
