Explosions were heard near the Iranian city of Isfahan on Friday as Israel reportedly launched a reprisal strike for an Iranian attack on Israel on Saturday.
There was no official confirmation of a strike from Israeli authorities. Iran’s state-run media reported that air defenses were activated, downplaying claims of an attack on a military site in the city which is located 315 kilometers (196 miles) south of Tehran.
However, unnamed Israeli and American officials told US news outlets that Israel had carried out the strike. The New York Times also reported that three Iranian sources confirmed that a military airbase in Isfahan had been struck. The scope of the damage was not clear.
Iranian state TV said that shortly after midnight “three drones were observed in the sky over Isfahan. The air defence system became active and destroyed these drones in the sky.”
A senior Iranian official told Reuters news agency “Iran has no plan for immediate retaliation against Israel.”
Isfahan is home to several military bases and several Iranian nuclear sites are in the province – including the Natanz Nuclear Complex, a centrepiece of Iran’s uranium enrichment programme.
On Saturday, Tehran launched over 300 projectiles at Israel, claiming that it was retaliating against a strike on its consulate in Syria. which killed two generals and several other Iranian officers.
About 99% of the missiles, drones and cruise missiles launched during Iran’s retaliatory operation were shot down or intercepted with the assistance of the US, UK, Jordan and France.
Update: Three missiles were fired from Israeli fighter aircraft last night, a senior US official has stated to US media outlets. The target was an air defence radar site near Isfahan that’s part of the protection of the Natanz nuclear facility. First assessment is that the strike took out the site.
