Strikes on Iran suggest Israel may have heeded US warnings

Israel's strike on Iran has been expected ever since Iran fired nearly 200 ballistic missiles at Israel about a month ago.

In a statement released on Saturday, a spokesperson for the Israeli military said that the operation had begun, emphasizing that Israel had both the "right and responsibility" to react. They also mentioned that all of Israel's defensive and offensive forces were completely activated.

Iranian government media has reported that loud explosions were heard in the western part of Tehran.

However, it's still unclear what the specific objectives were and whether Israel has actually achieved them.

News outlets affiliated with Iran's Revolutionary Guards report that certain military installations in the western and southwestern areas of Tehran have come under attack.

According to reports from the Syrian state news agency, Israeli air attacks have hit several military installations in both central and southern regions of Syria.

The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has shared an image of him at the military headquarters' operations center during the attack.

At this point, Iranian media is downplaying the situation's significance. The real details of what has transpired will likely be revealed gradually by Iranian officials.

Israel might speed up the process of revealing information about its attack. However, this could hinge on whether it intends to launch another offensive.

The Pentagon provided an update stating that the United States had prior knowledge of Israel's plans and clarified that there was no American participation in the operation.

This is important for Washington as it works to prevent the Israel-Iran conflict from escalating into a situation that could lead to a full-scale war.

The United States will be observing closely to determine whether Israel focused solely on military objectives or if the strikes extended to installations associated with Iran's nuclear program. Such a situation could lead to a significant reaction from Tehran.

At this point, based on the limited information we have, it seems that Israel might have taken into account the warnings from Washington and scaled back some of its more extreme intentions to inflict significant damage on the Iranian leadership.