The Israel Defense Forces carried out "precise strikes" on "military targets" in Iran early in the morning on Oct. 26, the IDF confirmed in a statement posted to X after media reports emerged saying that loud explosions occurred in Tehran and Karaj, a suburb about 20 miles northwest of Tehran. Al Jazeera also reported that explosions were heard in Damascus, Syria, and pro-Hezbollah Lebanese media outlet Al Mayadeen reported that there were explosions heard in Iraq's Diyala and Salahuddin Al-Din governorates.

The strike is in response to Iran's Oct. 1 strike on Israel where it launched nearly 200 ballistic missiles at Israel in retaliation for Israel's strikes on Lebanon in the preceding two weeks, which among other Hezbollah leaders killed Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah and Israel's July 31 assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran. The United States has been lobbying the Israeli government to keep its response to the Iranian strike on Israel narrow and refrain from targeting nuclear and energy sites for fear of further escalation by Iran in response.