JERUSALEM/TEHRAN — Israeli warplanes struck several targets on the outskirts of Tehran before dawn Saturday, drawing immediate vows of retaliation from Iran and prompting allied Houthi forces in Yemen to launch missiles toward Israel, according to regional officials and independent monitoring groups.
Israeli defense officials, speaking on background because they were not authorized to discuss ongoing operations, said the sorties hit “revolutionary-guard logistics hubs and radar sites” northwest of the capital at approximately 2:15 a.m. local time. Iran’s state broadcaster confirmed explosions in the Eshtehard and Karaj districts but said air-defense batteries intercepted “most” of the incoming munitions.
The attacks mark the first known Israeli airstrikes inside the Tehran metropolitan area since the undeclared war between the two longtime adversaries flared on 12 March. Analysts noted that previous Israeli operations had been confined to Iranian assets in Syria and western Iraq. “Crossing the capital’s red line is strategically and symbolically significant,” said Raz Zimmt, an Iran specialist at Israel’s Institute for National Security Studies.
Hours after the raids, Yemen’s Houthi movement — which receives Iranian support — claimed responsibility for firing a salvo of ballistic missiles at Israel’s southern port of Eilat. The U.S. Fifth Fleet said its destroyer USS Laboon intercepted two projectiles over the Red Sea corridor, while the Israel Defense Forces reported no casualties.
In Tehran, crowds gathered outside parliament chanting “Death to Israel” as Revolutionary Guard commander Hossein Salami promised a “severe and immediate response.” Iranian officials did not specify potential targets, but regional diplomats said U.S. and Israeli missions across the Gulf have been placed on heightened alert.
The cascade of action and reaction rattled energy markets. Brent crude futures briefly surged past $112 a barrel in electronic trading, their highest level since 2022, before paring gains on reports that diplomatic channels remained open through Omani mediators.
Washington again urged de-escalation. “The United States is not seeking a broader regional war,” a senior administration official told reporters, adding that U.S. forces would “defend our personnel and partners if attacked.”
With Israeli reservists still mobilized and Iranian proxies from Lebanon to Iraq signaling readiness to join the fight, security analysts warn the window for containment is narrowing. “Every additional actor raises the risk of miscalculation,” said Lina Khatib of the SOAS Middle East Institute. “Unless there is a quick diplomatic circuit-breaker, we could be looking at a multi-front regional conflict by week’s end.”
Mediators in Qatar and Switzerland are expected to propose a 48-hour cessation of hostilities at an emergency session of the U.N. Security Council scheduled for Monday. Whether the latest strikes have already locked the principals into a cycle of retaliation remains the central question hanging over the region.