Iran warns it will defend itself after Israeli strikes

Iran warned on Saturday it would defend itself after Israeli air strikes killed at least four soldiers and further stoked fears of a full-scale war in the Middle East.

Israel warned Iran would “pay a heavy price” if it responded to the strikes, and the United States, Germany, and Britain demanded Tehran not escalate the conflict further.

US President Joe Biden said he hoped “this is the end” after the predawn Israeli strikes, noting that “it looks like they didn’t hit anything other than military targets”.

Biden had urged Israel to spare nuclear and oil facilities in its retaliatory strikes and the International Atomic Energy Agency confirmed that no nuclear sites were hit.

The European Union called for all parties to exercise utmost restraint to avoid an “uncontrollable escalation”.

Other countries, including many of Iran’s neighbours, condemned Israel’s strikes and some, such as Russia, urged both sides to show restraint and avoid what Moscow dubbed a “catastrophic scenario”.

Iran insisted it had the “right and the duty” to defend itself, while its Lebanese ally Hezbollah said it had already launched rocket salvoes targeting five residential areas in northern Israel.