Israel carried out a series of airstrikes against Iran on Saturday, the Israeli military said.
The strikes, which residents in the capital, Tehran, reported hearing, came weeks after Iran fired a wave of ballistic missiles at Israel, forcing millions of Israelis to take cover in bomb shelters. Iran said it fired the missiles at Israel in response to Israel’s killing an Iranian commander and several leaders of Iranian-backed groups in the region.
The recent exchanges between Israel and Iran have bucked both countries’ longstanding practice of avoiding direct military clashes.
Information about how the strikes were carried out and what they targeted is still emerging.
But here’s a look at everything we know about the Israeli military action against Iran and the events that brought the countries to this point.
Here’s what you need to know:
What happened?
The Israeli military said in a statement at 2:30 a.m. on Saturday that it was “conducting precise strikes on military targets in Iran,” adding that it was acting in response to more than a year of attacks on Israel by Iran and its allies across the Middle East. It has rarely, if ever, acknowledged Israeli military activity on Iranian territory.
Residents of Tehran reported hearing explosions in and around the city.
Israel did not immediately say where or how the strikes were being carried out.