Iran has fired its air defense batteries in several provinces following reports of explosions as Israel has tonight retaliated against its enemy.
Fears of World War III are increasing as blasts have been allegedly heard and felt near the central Iranian city of Isfahan and the northwestern city of Tabriz. The early Friday morning chaos, which coincides with 85th birthday of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, had sparked fears Iran is now under attack in revenge for its unprecedented missile-and-drone strike on Israel - and of war breaking out across the region.
Iran's state media confirmed that air defences were triggered at a major air base and a nuclear site near the central city of Isfahan after spotting drones early Friday morning. The region is the site of a large airbase, a major missile production complex and a number of nuclear facilities.
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On social media, Hossein Dalirian, linked to Iran's space agency, claimed that a number of "quadcopter" drones had been blasted out of the sky. Officials from Tehran said that it does not plan an immediate military retaliation after the alleged Israeli attack from “infiltrators from inside Iran”.
Footage, seemingly showing the air defence system plucking missiles from sky, has been circulating on social media. It has not officially been verified. Chilling photos have also emerged showing plumes of smoke rising into the air after the strike as the targeted facilities erupted into flames.
Three drones were destroyed by the country's air defence systems, according to Iranian media outlets. No damage has resulted from the attack, according to an Isfahan-based army general. All atomic sites in the area were “fully safe,” according to Iranian state TV.
Iranian state-sanctioned media said that no important facilities near the city were "damaged significantly" from the alleged attack. It was later said that the loud blast heard near Isfahan was Iranian battery defence systems firing at a "suspicious object," according to Tasnim news agency.
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People in the area reportedly heard the sounds of the explosions and the activation of the Iranian battery defence systems. A US official told ABC News the strikes came from Israel and were meant to target Iran. The retaliatory strike has not been officially confirmed by Israel.
An official hinted that drone attacks might have targeted certain sites, though this remains unconfirmed. The Israeli military has not provided any comments in response to inquiries. However the former head of Israel’s Defence Intelligence, retired Major General Amos Yadlin, said the strikes were to show that Israel could match Iran's weapon capabilities.
He told Israel's Channel 12: "This move wasn’t to achieve a big response from Iran, rather to show them that we can respond, and Israel’s ability to do so. Iran sent Israel hundreds of missiles and failed to cause any damage; Israel sent Iran one, two or three — very few missiles — but managed to hit the exact parallel target to where Iran hit."
Israel’s national security minister appeared to belittle the alleged Israeli strikes on an Iranian air base. “Disappointing,” Itamar Ben-Gvir wrote on X. He also used Hebrew slang with a word that can also be interpreted as “poor show”.
Speaking from the G7 summit, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said the US is looking to defuse tensions, while simultaneously making sure Israel can defend itself. He told reporters: “I’m not going to speak to that except to say that the United States has not been involved in any offensive operations.
“What we’re focused on, what the G7 is focused on, and again, it’s reflected in our statement and in our conversation, is our work to de-escalate tensions, to de-escalate from any potential conflict. You saw Israel on the receiving end of an unprecedented attack.
“But our focus has been on, of course, making sure that Israel can effectively defend itself, but also de-escalating tensions, avoiding conflict. A big part of our approach has been to prevent the conflict from spreading, to avoid escalation everywhere.”
IRNA reported that the air defenses were triggered across multiple provinces, but did not specify what prompted the action. Meanwhile, residents reported hearing loud sounds throughout the region. Both the semi-official Fars and Tasnim news agencies also mentioned hearing blasts but did not provide further details. State television acknowledged the "loud noise" heard around the area.
It comes as Israel allegedly conducted a strike on a military radar installation in Syria, just hours after apparent Israeli strikes targeted Iran. The purported strike hit a radar installation in western Syria, according to Rami Abdel Rahman of Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
In the wake of these events, Dubai-based airlines Emirates and FlyDubai started rerouting flights away from western Iran around 4.30am local time. While they did not give a reason for the change, notices to pilots indicated that the airspace might have been temporarily closed.
Adding to the tension, Iranian state television issued an on-screen alert about a "loud noise" near Isfahan, offering no immediate explanation.
According to Hossein Dalirian, the spokesperson for Iran's civilian space program, a number of small "quadcopter" drones were shot down, as he stated on a social media platform. The details behind where or when this took place or whether it was related to the current crisis in Iran remains unclear.
Airsplace is closed closed around the city of Isfahan, a city that's home to a major airbase for Iran's military and is associated with the country's nuclear program.
Iranian state-sanctioned media agency IRNA confirmed that the country's air defence batteries were activated and fired on early Friday morning in several provinces, but IRNA did not elaborate on which ones or what specifically caused the batteries to fire as it remains unconfirmed what the cause of the explosions was.
Commercial flights around western Iran were diverted from their routes early on Friday morning without explanation. Iranian-based Fars news agency claimed it was because "explosions" were heard over Isfahan, the city about 215 miles (350km) south of Tehran.
It was reported that Emirates and FlyDubai, two Dubai-based air carrier companies, were forced to fly around the region after warnings to aviators suggested the airspace had closed without further explanations offered. Flights to and from Tehran, Isfahan and Shiraz, another Iranian city, were reportedly suspended following the explosion reports.
Another report indicated that the airstrikes occurred near Isfahan's international airport. It's the city where the funeral processions for the slain generals killed in an Israeli airstrike on an Iranian consulate in Damascus, Syria, on April 1, were held.
Now, fears of World War III are mounting as war could escalate across the region, expanding the already dire conflict as other countries could find themselves dragged into the fray. Tensions have been increasing in the region since the April 1 airstrike and exploded after Iran retaliated with what has been described as an "unprecedented" drone attack featuring missiles on Israel within the past week.
Israel then vowed to enact its revenge for that strike — which it seems to have done with the latest missile attacks. The two countries are now close to experiencing all-out war as their game of deadly volleyball ramps up. Iranian officials have not yet offered comments on the strike.
Retired US Army General Mike Lyons told CNN: "I think they used manned aircraft in this operation to ensure their targeting was precise. They went after military targets. This sends a signal to Iran that we can strike that facility [Isfahan's nuclear plant] if we want."
Former US Director of National Intelligence James Clapper issued a chilling warning about Iran's potential retaliation. He told CNN: "I don't think they [Iran] are going to respond [to Israel] in kind. But they are going to respond with a larger attack that, in their mind, would be larger than the first one."
The Iranian strike last weekend on Israel reportedly involved 300 "threats of various types," according to Israeli Defense Forces spokesperson Daniel Hagari. Approximately 99% of the strikes were intercepted by Israel's Iron Dome defence system, he said as he added that 170 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), or drones, were launched with over 120 ballistic missiles and over 30 cruise missiles were used to carry out the attack.
The attack has not been confirmed, however, and it's still not officially known what caused the explosions, even as rumours from many state media organisations in Iran are blaming Israel for the strikes.
It is unclear if Iran came under attack, as no Iranian official directly acknowledged the possibility and Israel's military did not respond to a request for comment. However, tensions have been high since the Saturday assault on Israel amid its war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip and its own strikes targeting Iran in Syria.
US officials declined to comment as of early Friday, but American broadcast networks quoting unnamed U.S. officials said Israel carried out the attack. The New York Times quoted anonymous Israeli officials claiming the assault
Air defense batteries fired in several provinces over reports of drones being in the air, state television reported. In particular, IRNA said air defenses fired at a major air base in Isfahan, which long has been home to Iran's fleet of American-made F-14 Tomcats - purchased before the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
Tasnim later published a video from one of its reporters, who said he was in the southeastern Zerdenjan area of Isfahan, near its "nuclear energy mountain." The footage showed two different anti-aircraft gun positions, and details of the video corresponded with known features of the site of Iran's Uranium Conversion Facility at Isfahan.
"At 4:45, we heard gunshots. There was nothing going on," he said. "It was the air defense, these guys that you're watching, and over there too."
The facility at Isfahan operates three small Chinese-supplied research reactors, as well as handling fuel production and other activities for Iran's civilian nuclear program. Isfahan also is home to sites associated with Iran's nuclear program, including its underground Natanz enrichment site, which has been repeatedly targeted by suspected Israeli sabotage attacks.
State television described all atomic sites in the area as "fully safe." The United Nations' nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, also said "there is no damage to Iran's nuclear sites" after the incident.
Gen. Siavosh Mihandoost, a local army commander, also told state TV the incident caused "no damage" around Isfahan.
