West warns Iran not to hit back as Israel strikes Tehran

Western leaders have warned Iran against hitting back against Israel after the first open airstrikes by the Israeli military against Tehran.

- CHRIS STEVENSON

The UK, US, Germany and France were among the nations to urge restraint following the strikes, which marked Israel's revenge for a barrage of close to 200 ballistic missiles from Iran earlier this month. Leaders fear an escalating tit-for-tat will become an all-out regional war at a time of growing violence across the Middle East.

Following the airstrikes, Iran’s foreign ministry said it had a right to self-defence, and “considers itself entitled and obligated to defend against foreign acts of aggression”. Foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said Iran has “no limits” in defending its interests. But the foreign ministry added it “recognises its responsibilities towards regional peace and security”, a more conciliatory statement than after previous bouts of fire.

The Israeli airstrikes mark a significant retaliation, but the nation’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, appears to have listened to repeated pleas from its staunchest ally, the US, not to strike at the most sensitive targets – Iran’s oil production infrastructure or nuclear facilities – with Washington wary of what response that would bring from Tehran.

Israel’s military said scores of jets completed three waves of strikes before dawn against missile factories and other sites near Tehran and in western Iran, and warned its heavily armed archfoe not to hit back. Iran claimed its air defences had successfully countered the attack but four soldiers were killed and some locations suffered “limited damage”, though it will always play down the strength of attacks against it. A semi-official Iranian news agency said there would be a “proportional reaction” to the Israeli strikes.

US president Joe Biden told reporters Israel notified him before the strikes and said it looked like “they didn’t hit anything but military targets”. He said he had just finished a call with intelligence officials. “I hope this is the end,” he said.