TEHRAN -- Iranian air defenses successfully confronted an Israeli attack on military targets near the capital and elsewhere in the early hours of Saturday. 
The Air Defense Base issued a statement saying that “Iran’s air defenses intercepted and successfully confronted the acts of aggression” carried out by “the criminal, illegitimate and fake regime of Israel.”
The statement added that the Zionist regime sought to escalate tensions in the conflict by launching attacks on military sites in the provinces of Tehran, Khuzestan, and Ilam, resulting in only “limited damage.”
The Iranian army later issued a statement announcing that four soldiers were martyred in the attack. The statement said they were “martyred during confrontation with the projectiles fired by the criminal Zionist regime.”
The statement “urged people to maintain unity and calm and ignore rumors spread by the enemy media.”
The Iranian foreign ministry said Tehran “considers itself entitled and obliged to defend itself against foreign acts of aggression”, describing Israel’s attack as a “clear violation” of international law.
Israeli media said the attack began around 2:15 am Saturday. The Israeli military said at 6 a.m. that the assault had been completed.
Citing an informed source, Tasnim news agency reported that the Zionist regime’s claim of striking 20 sites in Iran was unrealistic and part of its “psychological warfare strategy.”
Israel launched Saturday’s attack after Iran’s retaliatory operation against the Zionist regime on October 1, Operation True Promise 2.
In that attack, the Islamic Republic launched some 200 ballistic missiles at three different Israeli airbases. Video filmed by settlers and posted to social media showed the missiles making numerous direct hits.
The Iranian attack was in response to multiple Israeli aggressions, including the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in July in Tehran and Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and IRGC commander Abbas Nilforushan in Beirut in September.
Life went on normally in Tehran and other cities after the attack. Footage from Khuzestan showed the Bandar Imam Petrochemical Company (BIPC) intact after reports that the facility had been targeted. 
The Tehran Oil Refining Company brushed aside rumors that its facilities had been hit. 
Videos from the western border province of Ilam also showed absolute normalcy. 
Iran’s Civil Aviation Organization announced that flights had resumed after a short interruption. At Mehrabad Airport in Tehran, flights ran normally, with passengers moving through with no interruption.
The Ministry of Sports and Youth announced that all sports events will proceed according to plan. 
Meanwhile, the stock market opened on a positive note after days of decline, climbing 9,732 points in early trading. The U.S. 
dollar fell versus the Iranian currency to around 650,000 rials by midday after hitting a record high of 680,000 rials in the open market in recent days.
The spokesman the Gas Stations Guild, Reza Navaz, also said there was no significant spike in rush to gas stations after the attack.
“The public’s confidence in the capability and strength of our armed forces has meant there was no rush to gas stations, resulting in a calm night at fuel stations,” he said.
Social media users also to the Israeli aggression, describing it as weak and commending Iran’s air defense capabilities.
Writing on X, Moshi, a Jewish journalist, wrote, “Iran has proven that it has strong air defenses.”
U.S.-based geopolitical analyst Will Schryver summarized the situation, writing that despite Israel launching “a lot of missiles… there are no firm reports nor video evidence (so far) of big strikes on any significant Iranian targets.”
“My impression is that, although they probably hit *something* meaningful with this strike, by and large it was a demonstration of just how limited Israeli long-range strike capability really is -- and how formidable Iranian air defenses have become,” his post read.
Dan Cohen, a U.S.-based journalist and filmmaker, underlined “Israeli propaganda” trying to sell “the (Israeli) attack as a huge success.” 
“Israeli strikes on Iran apparently failed to cause any significant damage, but Israeli propaganda is desperate to sell the attack as a huge success. This pathetic display is how they’re trying to save face after getting wrecked in Lebanon this week.”
Researcher and scholar Helyeh Doutaghi issued a concise post addressing Israel’s act of aggression against the Islamic Republic. She described Israeli and U.S. bases in the region as “legitimate targets.”
Robert Inlakesh, a filmmaker and journalist based in Palestine, highlighted the media hype surrounding attempts to exaggerate the scale of Israel’s aggression toward Iran.
“Israel’s attack on Iran has so far been very weak, to the point of an embarrassment on the media front. Either they will launch another attack & this is a trick, or this is an attempted face-saving retreat, hence Israel sharing videos/photos from years ago. Hard to read.”