US warns Tehran, says knew about Israeli airstrikes

Reaffirming its ironclad support to Israel in its fight against Hamas-Hezbollah terrorism, the United States on Saturday warned Iran against retaliation after Israel’s ‘precise strikes’ on the former’s military targets, which led to the killing of at least four Irani soldiers.

“I emphasized that the United States is well postured to defend U.S. forces and facilities across the region and made clear that Iran should not make the mistake of responding to Israel’s strikes, which should mark the end of this exchange,” US Defence secretary Lloyd Austin said in a post on X.

Meanwhile, Iran warned on Saturday it would defend itself after Israeli air strikes while Israel cautioned that the Islamic Republic would have to “pay a heavy price” if it responded to the strikes.

The recent developments in Israel’s conflict with Iran and Hamas raise concerns of an all-out war, despite fevered diplomatic efforts to de-escalate the tensions.

Here are the top 10 updates on the recent Israel-Iran conflict:

1- The US reiterated its support to Israel and warned Iran against any kind of retaliation after Israeli airstrikes.

2- Iran insisted it had the “right and the duty” to defend itself and warned Israel of a robust retaliation.

3- Lebanese ally Hezbollah said it had already launched rocket salvos targeting five residential areas in northern Israel to avenge Israeli attacks in Iran.

4- The White House said that it was informed beforehand about Israel’s retaliatory strikes to Iran’s ballistic missile attack earlier this month.

5- Iran accused Israel of using Iraqi airspace in its attack on Tehran early Saturday. Israeli “warplanes attacked several Iranian military and radar sites from Iraqi airspace,” Iran’s mission to the United Nations said in a post on the social media platform X.

6- In a first, Israel claimed the attacks aimed to destroy military sites and retaliate against Iran and its allies.

7- Four air defence soldiers from Iran were killed in the Israeli airstrikes.

8- US President Joe Biden said that he hopes the Israeli strikes on Iran mark the end of a period of escalation in the Middle East. “It looks like they didn’t hit anything other than military targets. My hope is this is the end,” Biden told media.

9- The Israeli military says it’s easing restrictions for residents in parts of northern Israel amid ongoing rocket fire from Lebanon and despite Israel’s first-ever open attack on Iran overnight.

10- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemns all acts escalating violence in the Middle East and says they must stop immediately.