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Israel Says It Struck Targets in Syria After Missile Attack

Associated Press

   JERUSALEM - A missile launched from Syria struck southern Israel early
   Thursday, setting off air raid sirens near the country's top-secret
   nuclear reactor, the Israeli military said. In response, it said it
   attacked the missile launcher and air-defense systems in neighboring
   Syria.

   The incident, marking the most serious violence between Israel and
   Syria in years, pointed to likely Iranian involvement. Iran, which
   maintains troops and proxies in Syria, has accused Israel of a series
   of attacks on its nuclear facilities, including sabatoge at its Natanz
   nuclear facility on April 11, and vowed revenge. It also threatened to
   complicate U.S.-led attempts to revive the international nuclear deal
   with Iran.

   The Israeli army said the missile landed in the Negev region and the
   air raid sirens were sounded in Abu Krinat, a village just a few
   kilometers from Dimona, where Israel's nuclear reactor is located, and
   explosions were reported across Israel. The army later said the
   incoming missile had caused no damage.

   The Israeli military initially described the weapon fired as a
   surface-to-air missile, which is usually used for air defense against
   warplanes or other missiles. That could suggest the Syrian missile had
   targeted Israeli warplanes but missed and flown off errantly. However,
   Dimona is 300 kilometers (185 miles) south of Damascus, a long range
   for an errantly fired surface-to-air missile.

   Syria reports four wounded

   Syria's state-run SANA news agency said four soldiers had been wounded
   in an Israeli strike near Damascus, which also caused some damage. The
   agency did not elaborate other than to claim its air defense had
   intercepted "most of the enemy missiles," which it said were fired from
   the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights.

   There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the missile strike
   or comment from Iran. But on Saturday, Iran's hardline Kayhan newspaper
   published an opinion piece by Iranian analyst Sadollah Zarei suggesting
   Israel's Dimona facility be targeted after the attack on Natanz. Zarei
   cited the idea of "an eye for an eye" in his remarks.

   Action should be taken "against the nuclear facility in Dimona," he
   wrote. "This is because no other action is at the same level as the
   Natanz incident."

   The Dimona reactor is widely believed to be the centerpiece of an
   undeclared nuclear weapons program. Israel neither confirms nor denies
   having a nuclear arsenal.

   While Kayhan is a small circulation newspaper, its editor-in-chief,
   Hossein Shariatmadari, was appointed by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali
   Khamenei and has been described as an adviser to him in the past.

   Strikes urged previously

   Zarei has demanded retaliatory strikes on Israel in the past. In
   November, he suggested Iran strike the Israeli port city of Haifa over
   Israel's suspected involvement in the killing of a scientist who
   founded Iran's military nuclear program decades earlier. However, Iran
   did not retaliate then.

   Israel and Iran are archenemies. Israel accuses Iran of trying to
   develop nuclear weapons and has opposed U.S.-led efforts to revive the
   international nuclear deal with Iran. With Israel's encouragement,
   then-President Donald Trump withdrew from the deal in 2018.

   Iran recently began enriching a small amount of uranium up to 60%
   purity, the highest level ever for its program that edges even closer
   to weapons-grade levels. However, Iran insists its program is for
   peaceful purposes. It also has called for more international scrutiny
   of the Dimona facility.

   Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly said Israel
   will not allow Iran to develop a nuclear weapons capability, and
   defense officials have acknowledged preparing possible attack missions
   on Iranian targets. Israel has twice bombed other Mideast nations to
   target their nuclear programs.

   Nuclear talks

   All the incidents come as Iran negotiates in Vienna with world powers
   over the U.S. potentially re-entering its tattered nuclear deal with
   world powers. Negotiators there have described the talks as
   constructive so far, though they acknowledge the Natanz sabotage could
   strain the talks.

   Israel's government says the deal will not prevent Iran from developing
   a nuclear weapons capability. It also says it does not address Iran's
   long-range missile program and its support for hostile proxies in
   Lebanon, Syria and Gaza.