The Israeli military struck sites inside Iran in the early hours of Friday in response to Iranian direct rockets and missile attacks on Israel earlier this week, two Israeli and three Iranian officials confirmed to the New York Times.

Israel’s latest action is a direct response to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Saturday’s night attack on Israeli sites in which more than 300 rockets and missiles were launched directly from inside Iran.

Meanwhile, Israel was able to intercept most of the flying objects before they entered Israeli territory with the help of a military coalition consisting of the United States, United Kingdom, France, Jordan and other allies in the region.

Iran said the actions taken were necessary after Israel attacked the Iranian consulate in Syria.

In response to the incident, the Israeli government vowed to respond decisively to the attack and did that in the early morning of Friday, striking several targets in Syria, Iraq and Iran simultaneously.

According to the Times, Iranian officials said Israeli airstrikes hit a military base near the city of Isfahan, in the central city of Iran, which led to the activation of local air defence systems.

Iran media and the global nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said no nuclear facilities were targeted or destroyed during the attack. It is the first time in history that Israel has directly attacked Iran.

The Israeli government has yet to make an official comment about the incident. 

However, media reports in both countries are downplaying the scale of the attack, which analysts said was aimed at de-escalating the situation.