Israel launched an attack on Iran in retaliation for Iranian attacks on its territory late last week, ABC News said Thursday night, citing a senior US official, AFP reported Friday. It comes as Israel announced its intention to respond to Iranian raids on its territory overnight from Saturday to Sunday.
However, later on, Iran denied it would have been stricken by missiles and assured that the anti-aircraft defense shot down several drones.
“So far there is no information about any large-scale impact or explosion caused by any aerial threat,” the state agency IRNA reported. “There was no widespread attack,” IRNA added.
“There are no reports of a missile attack at this time,” Iranian Space Agency spokesman Hossein Dalirian said on his social media account X. The source indicated that the country’s air defenses shot down “three micro-drones.”
According to the Tasnim agency, the anti-aircraft defense was activated following the sighting of several small flying objects. Iranian state media reported that several small flying objects were shot down over the Iranian province of Isfahan, dpa reports.
Iranian state television had reported “loud explosions” in Isfahan province on Friday morning, indicating that the causes were unknown. Later, three explosions near a military base and the downing of drones were announced, as well as the fact that “there have been no missile attacks so far.”
The official Iran news agency announced that Iranian authorities activated air defenses in several provinces on Friday morning after reports of at least one explosion in the center of the country.
Commercial flights were suspended to and from several airports, including Tehran, but they were resumed soon after. Tehran’s two major airports have resumed flights, state media reported, after a brief suspension following explosions that were heard in the central Iranian city of Isfahan. “Flights from Imam Khomeini and Mehrabad airports have been resumed,” reports the official IRNA news agency.
The Israeli military said it had “no comment at this time” when asked by CNN about reports of explosions in Iran.
However, Israel notified the US on Thursday that it would retaliate against Iran in the coming days, an American official said, quoted by CNN. He says the US disagreed. “We have not approved a potential attack in response,” the official said.
On the other hand, a US general says the Israeli attack was a calculated message to Iran. By targeting Iran’s Isfahan province — home to major nuclear facilities — Israel likely warned it could easily overwhelm Iran’s defenses, retired general Mark MacCarley said.
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