April 19, 2024

Israel launched a strike on Iran early Friday in what appeared to be a limited response to Tehran’s drone and missile assault last weekend, according to a U.S. official and a person familiar with the discussions.

The retaliatory strike was designed to be “limited” in scope in order to avoid a wider regional war, said the person familiar. The people were granted anonymity to discuss sensitive internal deliberations.

Both Iran and Israel seemed to want to prevent escalation in the hours after the strike. Israel has not claimed responsibility or commented, while Iranian officials have played down the attack. Iranian media reported that sites associated with Iran’s nuclear program had not been damaged.

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