US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin, in a conversation with his Israeli counterpart Yoav Galant, expressed hope that Iran would refrain from responding to Israeli strikes because it would be a ‘mistake’ on Tehran’s part, the Pentagon said.
‘He told the minister that Iran should not make the mistake of responding to Israeli strikes,’ the department said in a release.
In addition, Austin pointed out that Israel’s latest attack should mark the end of the exchange of strikes between the two countries.
‘The secretary of state emphasised that the United States is well prepared to defend its forces, facilities and partners throughout the region and is determined to prevent anyone from exploiting tensions or expanding the conflict,’ the Pentagon added.
On Saturday night, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said it had launched strikes on military installations in Iran as part of its response to the October 1 attacks on the Jewish state. CBS News television channel, citing a source, reported that the Israeli attack on Iran was limited to military targets and did not extend to nuclear or oil facilities. According to IRNA, none of Iran’s oil industry facilities were hit. US portal Axios quoted sources as saying that Saturday’s Israeli strike allegedly paralysed Iran’s ballistic missile production as the attack damaged mixers used to produce solid rocket fuel for long-range ballistic missiles.
Earlier, Fars news agency claimed that Israel had struck a number of military bases in the west and south-west of Tehran. At the same time, the Tasnim news agency said that the military centres 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 hit.