Israel launches retaliatory attack on Iran

On October 26th, according to the AXIOS website, two people familiar with the matter said that Israel began its attack on Iran in the early hours of Saturday local time in retaliation for the large-scale ballistic missile attack launched by Iran on October 1st. Iranian state television reported that explosions occurred in several areas, including Tehran. U.S. and Israeli officials believe Iran will respond militarily, but hope it will be limited and allow the two adversaries to break the cycle of tit-for-tat. Ahead of a possible Israeli attack on Iran, the U.S. military has increased its presence in the region in the past few weeks. The purpose of this is to prevent Iran from responding and to help Israel defend against another round of Iranian missile attacks, U.S. officials said.