WASHINGTON, October 26. /TASS/. Israel warned Iran of an imminent attack on Friday via third countries ahead of time, demanding not to retaliate, Axios reported, citing sources.

"The Israelis made it clear to the Iranians in advance what they are going to attack in general and what they are not going to attack," one source told Axios. According to the news portal, "two other sources said Israel warned the Iranians not to respond to the attack and stressed that if Iran does retaliate, Israel would conduct another more significant attack, especially if Israeli civilians are killed or injured."

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said earlier that it was conducting surgical strikes on military targets in Iran "in response to months of continuous attacks."

The Iranian military, in turn, said that some of its facilities in the provinces of Tehran, Khuzestan and Ilam had come under attack but Israel had only managed to cause limited damage, while the country’s air defense systems deflected the main impact.

On the evening of October 1, Iran launched a massive missile attack on Israel as a response for the killings of the key leaders of Hamas, Hezbollah and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Tehran claimed that 90% of the missiles hit their intended targets, while Israel said that Iran only launched about 180 missiles and most of them were intercepted.

The Israeli General Staff vowed to "choose the right moment" to surprise Iran with a counter-attack, while Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned that the attacks on Israel will only be expanded.