Iran's air defenses repelled an attack by Israeli drones that planned to carry out an operation in eastern Tehran, the Shafaqna news agency reported.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said overnight to Saturday that it had struck military targets in Iran in response to the attacks on the Jewish state on October 1. CBS News, citing a source, reported that the Israeli attack on Iran was limited to military targets and did not extend to nuclear or oil facilities.
The Fars news agency claimed that Israel struck a number of military bases in the west and southwest of Tehran. At the same time, the Tasnim news agency stated that the military centers of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC, elite units of the Armed Forces), located in the west and southwest of the Iranian capital, were not damaged.
As reported by a Sputnik correspondent, at about 4:25 am (01:25 GMT) in the central part of Tehran, in the area of the Russian embassy, a second series of powerful explosions in the sky was heard, which lasted about a minute.
The IDF later said the attack on Iran has ended and the Israeli planes have returned safely to Israel.
"A short while ago, the IDF completed precise and targeted strikes against military targets in a number of areas in Iran. Our planes have safely returned home. The strike was conducted in response to the attacks by the Iranian regime against the State of Israel and its citizens in recent months. The retaliatory strike has been completed and the mission was fulfilled," the IDF said.
It named the targets hit in Iran.
"Based on intelligence, IAF [Israeli Air Force] aircraft struck missile manufacturing facilities used to produce the missiles that Iran fired at the State of Israel over the last year. These missiles posed a direct and immediate threat to the citizens of the State of Israel. Simultaneously, the IDF struck surface-to-air missile arrays and additional Iranian aerial capabilities, that were intended to restrict Israel's aerial freedom of operation in Iran," the IDF said.
Iran is ready to respond to Israel, the Iranian state news agency Tasnim reported, citing a high-ranking source.