Why has Israel attacked Iran?

Israel has carried retired a bid of overnight aerial strikes connected Iran, hitting what Israel called "military targets".

An onslaught had been expected for weeks successful retaliation for an Iranian rocket onslaught connected Israel.

Israel had vowed to deed backmost aft Iran carried retired a ballistic rocket onslaught connected Israel connected 1 October. In that attack, Iran fired much than 180 missiles astatine Israel. Most were intercepted by Israel's aerial defences and US-led allied forces. Some though deed aerial bases and different sites. One Palestinian was killed by a falling rocket casing.

Israel said it would retaliate, but did not accidental erstwhile oregon how. There had been changeless speculation since past connected the timing of an Israeli onslaught and what signifier it mightiness instrumentality - from constricted strikes to monolithic attacks connected Iran's lipid fields and atomic sites.

The onslaught came successful the aboriginal hours of Saturday and appears to person been restricted to rocket manufacturing and launching sites, and what Israel called "other aerial capabilities", without being specific.

Iran said it attacked Israel connected 1 October successful retaliation for the killings of the leaders of Hezbollah and Hamas - Iranian-backed equipped groups warring Israel - and a elder Iranian commander.

Hezbollah person Hassan Nasrallah and Brig Gen Abbas Nilforoushan were killed erstwhile Israel bombed the gathering they were successful in the Lebanese capital, Beirut, connected 27 September. Hamas governmental main Ismail Haniyeh was killed successful an detonation successful the compound wherever helium was staying connected a sojourn to Tehran connected 31 July. Iran blamed Israel for that attack, though Israel has neither confirmed nor denied involvement.

Iran's onslaught was its second-ever straight against Israel. It came 5 months aft it archetypal attacked Israel with waves of astir 300 drones and missiles. Israel said astir each were intercepted. That onslaught was successful effect to an Israeli aerial onslaught connected an Iranian consulate analyzable successful the Syrian capital, Damascus, connected 1 April, which killed 13 people, including 7 members of Iran's overseas Quds Force. Two of those killed were a elder Quds Force commandant and his deputy. Iran said the onslaught was a usurpation of its sovereignty.

The Quds Force is portion of Iran's astir almighty equipped force, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

The IRGC channels arms and equipment, including precocious precision missiles, done Syria to Hezbollah.

Israel retaliated for Iran's rocket and drone onslaught astir 3 weeks aboriginal by attacking targets successful Iran's cardinal Isfahan region. US officials confirmed the Israeli attack, though Israel did not comment. Israeli drones are reported to person deed radar for Iran's Russian-made S-300 aerial defence rocket system, which Israel believes would airs a peculiarly unsafe menace to immoderate of its fighters planes successful adjacent aerial space.

The onslaught connected the radar was considered constricted and designed to awesome Israel's quality to onslaught Iranian subject assets.

Prior to Iran's nonstop onslaught connected Israel connected 1 April, Iran and Israel had been engaged successful a years-long shadiness warfare - attacking each other's assets without admitting responsibility.

Those attacks person ratcheted up considerably during the warfare successful Gaza sparked by the Palestinian radical Hamas's battle connected adjacent Israeli communities past October.

The 2 countries were allies until the 1979 Islamic gyration successful Iran, which brought successful a authorities that has utilized opposing Israel arsenic a cardinal portion of its ideology.

Iran does not recognise Israel's close to beryllium and seeks its eradication. The country's ultimate leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has called Israel a "cancerous tumour" that "will undoubtedly beryllium uprooted and destroyed".

Israel believes that Iran poses an existential menace arsenic evidenced by Tehran's rhetoric, its build-up of proxy forces successful the portion including the Lebanese Shia militant radical Hezbollah that are sworn to Israel's destruction, and its backing and arming of Palestinian groups including Hamas.

It besides accuses Iran of secretly trying to make atomic weapons, though Iran denies seeking to physique a atomic bomb.

Iran is overmuch bigger than Israel geographically and has a colonisation of astir 90 million, astir 10 times arsenic large arsenic Israel's - but this does not construe into greater subject power.

Iran has invested heavy successful missiles and drones. It has a immense arsenal of its own, but has besides been supplying important amounts to its proxies - the Houthis successful Yemen and Hezbollah successful Lebanon.

What it lacks is modern aerial defence systems and combatant jets. Russia is believed to beryllium co-operating with Iran to amended those, including by providing Su-35 combatant jets, successful instrumentality for the subject enactment Tehran has fixed Moscow successful its warfare connected Ukraine.

By contrast, Israel has 1 of the astir precocious aerial forces successful the world. According to the IISS subject equilibrium report, Israel has astatine slightest 14 squadrons of jets - including F-15s, F-16s and the latest F-35 stealth jet.

Israel besides has acquisition of conducting strikes heavy wrong hostile territory. The shortest region betwixt Iran and Israel is astir 1,000km (620 miles).

Israel is assumed to person atomic weapons but maintains an authoritative argumentation of ambiguity. Iran does not person atomic weapons though Western states fishy it of secretly aiming to make them. Iran emphatically denies it is trying oregon adjacent wants to get atomic weapons.

Like Israel, Iran has a civilian atomic programme, though it has been nether suspicion for decades of covertly moving a parallel programme to manufacture worldly - enriched uranium - for atomic bombs, and the missiles to present them.

In May, the caput of the planetary atomic watchdog said Iran was "weeks alternatively than months" distant from having capable worldly for a atomic bomb. However, this does not mean Iran is weeks distant from a bomb. It would inactive necessitate a last measurement of enriching that worldly to subject grade, and having warheads, which it is not believed to possess.

Israel is not a signatory to the atomic Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), though Iran is. The NPT aims to halt the dispersed of atomic weapons and requires members to unfastened their atomic facilities to inspection to verify they are being utilized for purely peaceful purposes.

A 2015 UN-backed woody with Iran nether which it agreed to measures limiting its atomic activities successful instrumentality for a lifting of economical sanctions mostly collapsed aft then-President Trump pulled the US retired successful 2018. Iran has stepped up its atomic programme since then.

Iran has built up a web of allies and proxy forces successful the Middle East that it says signifier portion of an "axis of resistance" challenging US and Israeli interests successful the region. It supports them to varying degrees.

Syria is Iran's astir important ally. Iran, on with Russia, helped the Syrian authorities of Bashar al-Assad past the country's decade-long civilian war.

Iran's narration with Russia is besides becoming progressively significant. In December the Russian overseas ministry said the countries would velocity up enactment connected a "major caller interstate agreement".

Iran has provided Russia with Shahed onslaught drones. In February, Reuters quoted sources arsenic saying Iran had besides provided ballistic missiles. Iran denied the report. Meanwhile Iran says Russia plans to supply Iran with much precocious aircraft.

Of the equipped groups that Iran backs, Hezbollah successful Lebanon is the astir powerful. It has been trading cross-border occurrence with Israel connected an astir regular ground since warfare erupted betwixt Israel and Hamas. Tens of thousands of civilians connected some sides of the borderline person been forced to permission their homes.

Iran backs respective Shia militia successful Iraq which person attacked US bases successful Iraq, Syria and Jordan with rocket fire. The US retaliated aft 3 of its soldiers were killed astatine a subject outpost successful Jordan.

In Yemen, Iran provides enactment to the Houthi movement, which controls the astir populated areas of the country. The Houthis person fired missiles and drones astatine Israel and person besides been attacking commercialized shipping adjacent Yemen's shores, sinking astatine slightest 1 vessel. The US and UK person struck Houthi targets successful response.

Iran besides provides weapons and grooming to Palestinian equipped groups including Hamas, which attacked Israel connected 7 October past year. However, Iran denies immoderate relation successful the 7 October onslaught itself.

Additional reporting by Tom Spender and Jonathan Beale, defence correspondent