Israel may attack Iran’s military bases, intelligence facilities or command posts in response to Iran's missile attacks, but not its nuclear facilities, The New York Times reported citing sources.
In interviews, former and current senior Israeli officials acknowledged doubts about whether the country has the capability to do significant damage to Iran’s nuclear facilities.
It is likely that Israel’s first retaliation against Iran for Tuesday’s missile strikes will focus on military bases, and perhaps some intelligence or leadership sites, officials say.
"At least initially, Israel seems unlikely to go after the country’s nuclear crown jewels," New York Times wrote.
According to the report, after considerable debate, those targets seem to have been reserved for later, if Tehran escalates with counterstrikes of its own.
Iran's strikes against Israel
On October 1, Iran launched a major two-wave attack against Israel. The Israel Defense Forces said the attack involved more than 180 missiles. It was the second direct attack by Iran against Israel after the April 2024 strikes. Iran claimed that the attack was an act of "self-defense".
The attacks, while more successful at saturating Israeli air defenses than in April, did not appear to cause extensive damage. Israel said it had shot down most of the missiles and there had been no harm to its Air Force's capabilities
