Israel launches retaliatory attack on Iran

According to the AXIOS website, two people familiar with the matter said that Israel began to attack Iran in the early hours of Saturday morning local time in retaliation for Iran's massive ballistic missile attack on October 1. Iranian state television reported explosions in several areas, including Tehran. U.S. and Israeli officials believe that Iran will respond militarily, but hope that it will be limited and allow the two opponents to break the cycle of tit-for-tat. The U.S. military has increased its troop presence in the region in the past few weeks ahead of Israel's possible attack on Iran. U.S. officials said the purpose of this is to prevent Iran from responding and to help Israel defend against another round of missile attacks from Iran. (Jinshi)