Isfahan, a central province in Iran, experienced reported explosions on Friday, as state media indicated, with US officials pointing to Israel’s purported involvement in conducting retaliatory strikes against its perennial antagonist.
Iranian state media revealed the activation of air defense systems in several cities, following the announcement by the country’s official broadcaster of explosions heard near Isfahan.
Prior to the recent events, Israel had cautioned of impending retaliation, affirming its determination to strike back following Iran’s deployment of hundreds of missiles and drones towards Israel approximately a week ago. This retaliation followed a deadly strike, which Tehran attributed to its enemy, resulting in the destruction of Iran’s consular annex at its embassy in Syria.
Apprehensions of a substantial spillage of conflict into the wider region have surged following the Gaza war.
As of now, there has been no response from Israeli or Iranian officials regarding the overnight strikes, and the full extent of the damage remains unknown.
Iran’s Tasnim news agency, citing “informed sources,” denied that Iran had been attacked from abroad.
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“Contrary to the rumours and claims” made in foreign media, “there are no reports of an attack from abroad on Iran’s central city of Isfahan or any other part of the country,” Tasnim said.
Three Iranian officials told The New York Times that small drones carried out the attack, possibly launched from inside Iran and that its radar systems had not detected unidentified aircraft entering Iranian airspace.
Fars news agency reported “three explosions” heard close to Qahjavarestan, near Isfahan airport and the 8th Shekari army airbase, while Iran’s space agency spokesman Hossein Dalirian said “several” drones had been “successfully shot down”.
Dalirian said on social media platform X there were “no reports of a missile attack”.
“Reports indicate there was no major damage or large explosions caused by the impact of any air threat,” the official IRNA news agency said.
The senior military officer in Isfahan, Brigadier General Siavash Mihandoost, told state television that the loud sound people heard was caused by defence systems shooting at a target in the air, not an explosion on the ground.
Tasnim reported that nuclear facilities in Isfahan were deemed fully secure, while the UN’s atomic watchdog stated there was no evidence of damage to Iran’s nuclear installations.
US media quoted officials as stating that Washington had received prior notification of Israel’s reported strike but did not support or participate in its execution.
Despite committing to providing steadfast support to Israel, US President Joe Biden also advised caution, urging careful deliberation and strategic thinking before embarking on any actions against Iran that could escalate into a wider conflict.
Sources familiar with the matter, as cited by NBC and CNN, along with a US official, indicated that Israel had provided advance notice to Washington regarding the strike.
CNN quoted an official as saying that the target was not a nuclear facility. There were no immediate comments from the White House or Pentagon, and the Israeli military informed the press that they weren’t willing to provide any comment at that moment.