Israel says it has the right and duty to respond to attacks from Tehran and its proxies. (AP PHOTO)

Israel has hit back at Iran early, with its military saying it was conducting strikes against military targets in response to Tehran’s attacks on Israel.

The Middle East has been on edge in anticipation of Israeli retaliation for a ballistic-missile barrage carried out by Iran on October 1, in which around 200 ballistic missiles were fired at Israel, Iran’s second direct attack on Israel in six months.

“In response to months of continuous attacks from the regime in Iran against the State of Israel – right now the Israel Defence Forces is conducting precise strikes on military targets in Iran,” the Israel Defence Forces said in a statement on Saturday.

Israel says it has the right and duty to respond to attacks from Tehran and its proxies, which have included missile strikes launched from Iranian soil.

“Our defensive and offensive capabilities are fully mobilised,” it added.

The scope of the attack was not immediately clear.

Iran’s state TV said several strong explosions were heard around the capital Tehran. Semi-official Iranian media said explosions were also heard in the nearby city of Karaj.

The Tasnim news agency said that “nothing has been reported about hearing the sound of rockets or planes in the sky of Tehran so far”.

State TV cited unnamed Iranian intelligence officials as saying that the origin of the loud explosions “could be from the activation of Iran’s air defence system”.

Iranian authorities have repeatedly warned Israel against launching an attack, saying any strike on Iran would be met with a stronger retaliation.

The United States was notified by Israel ahead of its strikes on targets in Iran but was not involved in the operation, a US official told Reuters.

“We understand that Israel is conducting targeted strikes against military targets in Iran as an exercise of self-defence and in response to Iran’s ballistic missile attack against Israel on October 1st,” said White House National Security Council spokesperson Sean Savett.

Washington is seeking to head off further widening of the conflict. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday said Israel’s retaliation should not lead to greater escalation.

Syrian state TV said explosions were also heard in the Damascus countryside and central region.

Israel’s defence minister said this week that enemies would “pay a heavy price” for trying to harm Israel.

In the past few weeks Israel has intensified its offensive against Palestinian militants Hamas in Gaza and its Iran-backed ally Hezbollah in Lebanon. The war was triggered a year ago by Hamas’ October 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel.

Meanwhile, an Israeli strike killed three journalists in southern Lebanon on Friday, Lebanese officials said, while Hezbollah killed two people in northern Israel and violence raged in Gaza as Washington pressed for a way out of the conflict.

Blinken said there was an urgent need to get a diplomatic resolution, a day after he said Washington did not want to see a protracted campaign in Lebanon by its ally Israel.

Israel launched its major offensive in Lebanon a month ago, saying it was targeting the heavily armed, Iran-backed Hezbollah group to secure the return home of tens of thousands of Israelis evacuated from the north due to cross-border rocket attacks.

Beirut authorities say Israel’s Lebanon offensive has killed more than 2500 people and displaced more than 1.2 million, sparking a humanitarian crisis.

Hezbollah stepped up its rocket attacks when the Hamas-led 2023 attack on Israel triggered Israel’s offensive in Gaza, where Palestinian officials said Israeli strikes had killed at least 72 people since Thursday night.