JERUSALEM—Following Israel’s successful aerial strikes in Iran early Saturday, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced its readiness to continue its offensive against Iran, the world’s foremost state sponsor of terrorism, if Tehran retaliates.
The IDF Spokesperson, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, stated, “Should the Iranian regime err by initiating a new round of escalation, we will be compelled to respond. Our message is clear: All those who threaten the State of Israel and seek to draw the region into a broader conflict will face severe consequences.”
He added, “We demonstrated today that we possess both the capability and the determination to act decisively — and we are prepared — on offense and defense — to safeguard the State of Israel and its people.”
Israel named its Saturday operation “Days of Repentance” as a response to Iran’s barrage of approximately 200 ballistic missiles launched on October 1 into Israel. Iran claimed the attack was retaliation for the IDF’s elimination of the Tehran-backed global Hezbollah terrorist, Hassan Nasrallah, in Beirut.
Pressure on Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from the appears to have influenced Jerusalem to limit its historic attack on Iran to purely military installations. Israel refrained from targeting Iran’s illicit nuclear weapons sites and its vast oil production facilities.
“Israel opted for the least aggressive response against the Islamic Republic by conducting precise strikes on military targets,” noted Lisa Daftari, an Iran expert and editor-in-chief of The Foreign Desk.
Daftari told Digita, “This approach raises questions about whether the U.S. influenced Israel to adopt a more restrained response, possibly to prevent further escalation. One could argue these strikes successfully reestablished deterrence, while it can also be said that Israel missed an opportunity to target more crucial sites. Many factors, including the timing, target selection, and strike intensity, were complicated by a U.S. leak and our upcoming elections. Despite these pressures, Israel appears prepared to change its approach if the Islamic Republic decides to escalate further.”
On Saturday, Secretary of Defense Austin issued a statement on X noting that he had spoken with his Israeli counterpart where he “reaffirmed the ironclad commitment of the United States to Israel’s security and right to self-defense. I made it clear that the United States maintains an enhanced force posture to defend U.S. personnel, Israel, and partners across the region in the face of threats from Iran and Iran-backed terrorist organizations and is determined to prevent any actor from exploiting tensions or expanding the conflict in the region.”
A senior U.S. official said on Friday that “Israel conducted precision airstrikes against multiple military targets across Iran and outside populated areas.” The official added that the United States played no role in the mission and the “President and his national security team, of course, worked with the Israelis over recent weeks to encourage Israel to conduct it, to conduct a response that was targeted and proportional. A lower risk of civilian harm. And that appears to have been precisely what transpired this evening.”
Mardo Soghom, the Chief Editor of Iran International English website, told Digital, “The regime and its media are downplaying the attack. They are saying it was ineffective, and the air defenses are wonderful. They claim Israel’s attack had minimal damage. Some of the regime’s hardliners are openly urging a counter-attack. Iran’s foreign ministry is saying its right of response is still reserved.”
He chalked up the foreign ministry response to cliché-like diplomatic language and noted that “No one witnessed the S-300” air defense system being fired, suggesting that Israel’s bypassed Iran’s vaunted Russian-made counter-missile apparatus.
“My analysis is the U.S. and Israel seem to have put . The U.S. has warned Iran not to respond, so if Iran responds, it could warrant a U.S. response,” said the Iran expert Soghom.
Israeli counterstrikes reportedly killed four Iranian soldiers, one of whom was an officer, according to the regime-controlled media. It is unclear whether Tehran will up the ante and launch new missile attacks against the Jewish state.
Digital approached an IDF spokesman about an Israeli news report saying Israel was preparing for retaliatory Iranian ballistic missile strikes. The IDF spokesman said, “It’s not anything special. We are always preparing.”
Axios reported that . “The Israelis made it clear to the Iranians in advance what they are going to attack in general and what they are not going to attack,” a source told Axios. The IDF did not immediately respond to Digital on the report.
Former Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid, leader of one of Israel’s main opposition party’s posted criticism of the attack on X, saying it was a wasted opportunity. A translation of his post read in part, “The decision not to attack strategic and economic targets in Iran was wrong. We could and should have exacted a much heavier price from Iran.”
eported that former Defense Minister and leader of the Yisrael Beytenu party, Avigdor Liberman, said Israel failed to “exact a real price” from the Islamic Republic, and criticized the government for its “showmanship.”