(Reuters) -Israel's effective use of air-launched ballistic missiles in its airstrikes against Iran is expected to pique interest elsewhere in acquiring the weapons, which most major powers have avoided in favour of cruise missiles and glide bombs.

For now at least, Iran is seeking to downplay the Israeli strike; its semi-official news agency, Tasnim, labelled Israel’s claims as “complete lies” and said that only “limited damage” was caused. Tehran will almost certainly bide its time before deciding if and how to respond.

Israel deployed US-made F-35 stealth fighters among its 100 jets, spy planes and refueling aircraft to conduct its largest-ever strike on Iran, which left Tehran vulnerable should war break out, a

Hours after Iranian missiles rained down on Israel on Oct. 1, President Joe Biden's administration sent an urgent message to Israel: Take a breath. Israel, Washington argued, owned the clock and had time to decide on how to best respond to an Iranian strike that the United States assessed could have killed thousands if Israel,

Israel’s prime minister said Israeli airstrikes on Iran had achieved their goals, and Iranian officials did not threaten retaliation.

Israel's attack dealt a blow to the Iranian regime, but some analysts fear the move could accelerate Tehran's pursuit of nuclear weapons.

A spate of recent intelligence successes by Israel against Iran and its allies have underlined the extent of Israel's infiltration of the establishment in Iran, causing major anxiety for its leadership,