A general view of Tehran after several explosions were heard. AFP/Atta Kenare
JERUSALEM - Israel announced the launch of "precise strikes" on military targets in Iran on Saturday in retaliation for Iranian attacks, as an AFP journalist in Tehran reported hearing several explosions.
Israel had vowed to hit back at Iran for its October 1 missile strike, the second-ever direct attack by the Islamic republic on its arch-foe.
The rapid escalation of violence has heightened fears across the region and beyond of a wider war, pitting Israel against Iran and the allies it dubs the "axis of resistance" on multiple fronts.
Since the deadliest attack in its history on 7 October 2023, Israel has been fighting Hamas in Gaza, and since late last month, it has been at war with Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Both Hezbollah and Hamas are allies of Iran, as are armed groups in Yemen and Iraq and the government in Syria.
In a statement, the Israeli military said that it was conducting "precise strikes on military targets in Iran", in response to what it said were "months of continuous attacks from the regime in Iran".
"The regime in Iran and its proxies in the region have been relentlessly attacking Israel since October 7th -- on seven fronts -- including direct attacks from Iranian soil," the military said.
Iran in April launched its first-ever direct assault on Israeli territory in retaliation for a deadly strike on Iran's consular annex in Damascus.
Defence Minister Yoav Gallant had said that Israel's retaliation for the October 1 strike would be "deadly, precise and surprising".
The October 7, 2023, attack on Israel that sparked the conflict killed 1,206 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of official Israeli figures.
Israel's retaliatory campaign in Gaza has killed 42,847 people, the majority civilians, according to figures from the Hamas-run territory's health ministry which the United Nations considers reliable.
It has since broadened the scope of its operations to Lebanon, vowing to secure its northern border after nearly a year of attacks launched by Iran-backed Hezbollah in support of Hamas.
At least 1,580 people have been killed in Lebanon since September 23, according to an AFP tally of Lebanese health ministry figures.
"Our defensive and offensive capabilities are fully mobilised," the Israeli military said.
Military spokesman Daniel Hagari in a separate statement urged people to be "alert and vigilant".
Iran's October 1 strike came after an Israeli air raid killed Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah and Revolutionary Guards general Abbas Nilforoushan in Lebanon on September 27.
The killing of Nasrallah, which dealt Hezbollah a seismic blow, followed the death of Hamas's political leader, Ismail Haniyeh, on July 31 in Iran in an attack widely blamed on Israel.