Israel’s attack on Iran on Friday night comes three weeks after Tehran launched 180 ballistic missiles at Israel on October 1.
Israel had been expected to retaliate following the attack by Iran over the killings of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran and Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut.
Following the attack Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to retaliate against Iran, which he said “made a big mistake tonight and it will pay for it”.
Tehran has also been funding, training and arming proxies including Hamas in Gaza, Hesbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen to attack Israel.
What was Iran’s previous attack on Israel?
Iran previously attacked Israel in April when it sent more than 300 drones and missiles in a barrage that was largely shot down by Israel and its allies.
Iran fired 170 drones, more than 30 cruise missiles and more than 120 ballistic missiles but most were intercepted with the help of the US and the UK.
What happens next?
How the growing conflict in the Middle East escalates next will likely depend on how Iran responds.
Abbas Araghchi, Iran’s foreign minister, previously described its attack on Israel as self-defence but said that it would have a “crushing response” if any other country entered an operation with Israel against Iran.
He has said that the response to “any Israeli aggression will be even stronger and harsher”. However he is reported to have said he does not want a wider war and is prepared to absorb the damage of target targets on military sites but not oil refineries or nuclear facilities.
Has Israel attacked nuclear facilities or oil refineries?
Officials have said Israel is not striking nuclear facilities or oil fields but instead military targets.
The Biden Administration had urged Israel not to target these sensitive sites with the President urging Israel to act “proportionally” in its response.
Does Iran have nuclear weapons?
Iran does not currently have nuclear weapons but the US and UN believed it had a secret program that it halted in 2003.
Tehran denies ever having planned to have nuclear weapons but agreed to restrictions on its nuclear activities in exchange for the relaxation of international sanctions under a 2015 deal.
Donald Trump pulled out of the deal in 2018 and Iran started abandoning the restrictions the next year and has been expanding its uranium enrichment program since then.
It means the “breakout time” to produce enough weapons-grade uranium has reduced from around a year under the 2015 deal to weeks.
