After days of waiting, Israel carried out a retaliatory attack on Iran. According to Xinhua News Agency, the Israeli Defense Forces said that the Israeli military has completed "precise and targeted strikes" on multiple military targets in Iran, and the Israeli Air Force fighter jets have safely returned to Israel. The Iranian military, on the same day, stated that the Iranian forces successfully defended against the Israeli attack, and the "losses were limited" as a result of the Israeli actions.

Director of the Israel Studies Center at Northwest University, Wang Jin, told the First Financial Daily that neither Israeli nor Iranian official public opinion is willing to escalate military conflicts. The mainstream public opinion in Iran believes that Iran successfully repelled Israeli attacks with minimal losses. He further analyzed that both Israel and Iran want to portray themselves as "winners" to alleviate domestic pressure and show a weak willingness to escalate military conflicts. Meanwhile, neither regional countries nor the United States are willing to see the military conflict continue for a long time.

Israel's Retaliation: "Boots on the Ground" Starting from the early hours of the morning in Iran, Israel launched attacks on dozens of strategic targets within Iran's borders within a few hours. This marks the first time in recent years that Israel has publicly acknowledged carrying out military operations inside Iran. Despite Israel's high-profile announcement of the attacks on Iran, the actions were perceived by the outside world as relatively restrained. The first wave of attacks targeted Iran's air defense systems. The second and third waves focused on Iran's missile and drone bases and production facilities. In a statement, the Israeli military said that its air force had struck Iran's missile manufacturing facilities, which produce missiles that "pose a direct and imminent threat to Israeli citizens." Additionally, the Israeli military targeted Iran's surface-to-air missile arrays and other military installations.

Subsequently, Israeli Defense Forces spokesperson Hagarai stated in a video statement released on the same day that the Israeli military's attacks on Iran had concluded. Hagarai claimed that the Israeli military had accurately targeted Iranian military facilities posing an immediate threat to Israel, successfully accomplishing its mission. He also warned that if Iran "opens a new round of escalation," Israel "will respond."

This year, from Iran's "limited" retaliatory strikes on Israeli military sites to Iran's suspected retaliation by Israel, the interval was days. This time, from Iran's missile attack on Israel on the 1st to Israel's counterattack, the interval was days. This round of retaliation required more time for coordination between the United States and Israel. Initially, Israel hinted at targeting Iranian oil fields or nuclear facilities, but the Biden administration promptly expressed its disapproval. The U.S. made it clear that they believed Israel's response, in both nature and target, should avoid excessive escalation or impact on the global economy. Biden and his senior national security advisors made it clear in a series of regular discussions that they did not support strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities or oil reserves. After the Biden administration expressed concerns about further provocation and domestic impacts, Israeli officials assured the U.S. that the targets of their response were Iranian military assets, not nuclear or oil facilities.

However, the Israeli Prime Minister's Office also issued a statement stating that Israel's decision to attack Iranian targets was based on Israel's national interests, not on U.S. directives, "Israel follows and will continue to follow this principle now and in the future." U.S. President Joe Biden said on the same day that he had received relevant briefings from U.S. intelligence agencies regarding the retaliatory action. He hoped that this attack would mark the end of the tense situation in the Middle East, "It appears that they did not hit anything other than military targets. I hope this is the end."

Iran's Armed Forces General Staff issued a statement on the Israeli attack that occurred on the same day, stating that Iran reserves the legitimate and rightful right to respond at an appropriate time. The statement noted that Israel launched long-range air-based missiles targeting radars in Iran's Ilam, Khuzestan provinces, and areas near the capital Tehran, within Iraqi territory kilometers from the Iranian border. Due to the timely response of Iran's air defense systems, the "losses were limited and the impact minimal." Several radar systems were damaged and are currently being repaired. After the attack, the situation in Tehran was normal. The Iranian police revealed that there were no issues with the traffic arteries across the country, nor with the roads in urban and suburban areas, and gasoline supply and distribution continued as usual. Although all flights were temporarily suspended by Iran's civil aviation authorities, they resumed as of 10:00 AM local time.

How Iran reacts may determine the future direction of the situation. Iran typically prefers to avoid direct conflict with Israel. Since the outbreak of the new round of Israel-Palestine conflict, Iran's two retaliatory strikes against Israel have been passive and restrained, leaving room for maneuver. For Iran, leveraging its influence over anti-Israeli forces within the region to control the situation is more in line with its interests than engaging in a full-scale conflict with Israel directly. However, Wang Jin also told the First Financial Daily that there are many hardliners within Iran who believe that Iran's national security has been directly challenged by Israel, and Iran should respond with strong countermeasures. He said that there is a strong war rhetoric within both Israel and Iran, which is an important condition for the escalation and rekindling of conflict between Iran and Israel.