April 19, 2024 - Iran targeted in aerial attack

Our live coverage of the attack on Iran has moved here.

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi made no mention of Israel’s Friday (local time) strike on Iran, while publicly lauding the unprecedented Iranian military operation last weekend targeting the “Israeli-occupied territories.”

Iran’s April 13 retaliatory strikes, part of an operation named “True Promise,” were a display of Iran’s military strength and a necessary act against what Raisi called the “illegal regime,” he said Friday. 

Raisi described the strikes as “punitive reprisal” by the Iranian Armed Forces, aimed at demonstrating Iran’s power and the resolve of its people. 

Remember: The on April 1 strikes on Iran’s embassy compound in Damascus demolished a building and left several dead, including two high-ranking generals.

Israel and the United States have said that Iran’s lob of some 300 missiles had very little material impact and caused only one injury.

At least three members of the Iranian-backed Popular Mobilization Units or PMU — also called Popular Mobilization Forces or PMF — were wounded following “five explosions” at a military base south of Baghdad, said Muhannad al-Anazi, member of the Security Committee in Babylon Governorate, in a statement in the early hours of Saturday local time.

A short statement released by the PMU acknowledged there was “an explosion that occurred at the headquarters of the Popular Mobilization Forces at the Kalsu military base in the Al-Mashrou district on the highway, north of the Babylon Governorate.”

An investigation team arrived at the scene, and the explosion caused material losses and injuries, the PMU said. “We will provide you with the details once the preliminary investigation is completed,” it added.

Israel has no involvement in the reports of explosions in Iraq on Friday evening, an Israeli official told CNN.

The US Central Command said the US did not carry out strikes in Iraq. The Combined Joint Task Force that leads Operation Inherent Resolve, which is the ongoing multinational mission to defeat ISIS, also said the US-led coalition did not carry out any strikes in Iraq.

Remember: The explosions near the Iraqi capital of Baghdad come one day after strikes against a military base in Isfahan, Iran. A US official told CNN that Israel was responsible for the strikes in Iran.

This post has been updated with comments from an Israeli and US official.

The aftermath of the Israeli strikes in Iran left the world on edge as concerns of a potentially dangerous escalation of a fast-widening Middle East conflict continue to rise.

Here’s the immediate response almost 24 hours after the strikes:

Here’s what else happened:

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke with his Israeli counterpart on Friday, according to a readout from the Pentagon.

This comes one day after Israel carried out strikes in Iran. The readout makes no mention of the Israeli strikes, and the Biden administration has been tight-lipped following the actions. 

Austin and Israel Defense Minister Yoav Gallant discussed “regional stability,” as well as the ongoing war in Gaza, according to the Pentagon.

Austin also spoke with Gallant on Thursday before the strikes took place. The readout of the earlier call had slightly more information, saying the two discussed “Iran’s destabilizing actions in the Middle East.”

In a previous call, Austin had asked Gallant for Israel to notify the US before taking any action in retaliation for a massive Iranian barrage fired at Israel last weekend.

The scope of Israel’s military response to Iran’s first-ever direct attack on the country remains murky. Israeli officials have yet to publicly acknowledge responsibility for reported overnight explosions in parts of Iran on Friday. Tehran has dismissed these as attacks by “tiny drones” that were shot down by its air defense systems.

Iran may be downplaying what was likely to have been a significant but limited Israeli attack, but that seems to be secondary to the larger forces at play. What is plain to see is that both Iran and Israel are keen to wrap up the most dangerous escalation between the two regional powerhouses to date.

This month’s dramatic escalation, which kicked off with an apparent Israeli airstrike on Iran’s consulate in Damascus, followed by a largely foiled Iranian attack of over 300 airborne weapons on Israel, seems to have given way to a rapid climbdown. Shortly after the Friday morning attack in Iran, a regional intelligence source told CNN that Iran was not expected to respond further, and that the direct state-to-state strikes between the two enemy states were over.

The latest flare-up brought the stakes into sharp focus, but it also exposed the limits of a direct confrontation between Iran and Israel.

Remember: What happens between Iran and Israel rarely stays between Iran and Israel. The region is deeply intertwined. That heightens the risks of military action, but it also acts as guardrails against a potential conflagration. So when US officials said last weekend that Washington would not participate in an Israeli response to Iran’s attack on Israel, that seemed to immediately take the wind out of the sails of a potential escalation.

The European Union has imposed sanctions on “extremist settlers in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem,” the European Council announced on Friday, listing four people and two entities.

According to the statement, the entities Lehava, a “radical right-wing Jewish supremacist group,” and Hilltop Youth, a “radical youth group consisting of members known for violent acts against Palestinians and their villages in the West Bank,” were added to the EU sanctions regime alongside two leading figures of Hilltop Youth, Meir Ettinger and Elisha Yered.

Neria Ben Pazi, who the EU’s governing body said has been “accused of repeatedly attacking Palestinians,” and Yinon Levi, who the council said has “taken part in multiple violent acts against neighbouring villages,” were also added to the listing.

The EU’s top diplomat, Josep Borrell, said in a post on X that “the EU has decided to sanction extremist settlers in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem for serious human rights abuses against Palestinians. We strongly condemn extremist settler violence: perpetrators must be held to account.”

Belgium’s Foreign Minister Hadja Lahbib said that she “welcomes” the sanctions, adding that the “recent escalation of violence against Palestinians in the West Bank must stop; these settlers must be held accountable.”

Yered responded later Friday, saying he was “honored to be included in this respected list” and that “we shall continue holding onto the land of our forefathers — until the victory.”

This post has been updated with comment from Elisha Yered.

There does not appear to be any extensive damage at an air base purportedly targeted by an Israeli military strike, according to exclusive satellite images obtained by CNN from Umbra Space. 

The synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellite images were taken around 10:18 a.m. local time. 

There does not appear to be any large craters in the ground and there are no apparent destroyed buildings. Additional visual satellite imagery will be needed to check for burn scars – which cannot be seen by SAR images – around the complex.

SAR images are not like normal satellite images. 

The SAR images are created by a satellite transmitting radar beams capable of passing through clouds, like the ones currently preventing satellites from imaging the area. Those radar beams bounce off objects on the ground, and echo back to the satellite.

Iranian news agency FARS said that an army radar at the Isfahan province military base was one of the possible targets, and that the only damage from the attack was broken windows on several office buildings.

The images also show that the Iranian F-14 Tomcats that have been stationed at the air base in the past are not there at the moment. Additional archival satellite imagery reviewed by CNN shows that those F-14 Tomcats have not been there for some time.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres has urged both sides to cease retaliating after Israel carried out a military strike on Iran, a spokesperson said in a statement on Friday. 

“The Secretary-General reiterates that it is high time to stop the dangerous cycle of retaliation in the Middle East,” the statement read.
“The Secretary-General condemns any act of retaliation and appeals to the international community to work together to prevent any further development that could lead to devastating consequences for the entire region and beyond,” it continued. 

The US Treasury Department imposed sanctions on two organizations on Friday for fundraising on behalf of two violent Israeli extremists in the West Bank.

The two groups – Mount Hebron Fund and Shlom Asiraich – established crowdfunding campaigns to raise thousands of dollars for Yinon Levi and David Chai Chasdai respectively. Both of those men were sanctioned by the US in February under a new executive order targeting those perpetrating violence in the West Bank. 

At the same time, the State Department on Friday sanctioned Ben-Zion Gopstein, “the founder and leader of Lehava, an organization whose members have engaged in violence, including assaults on Palestinian civilians,” the Treasury Department said in a statement Friday.

The executive order, issued by President Joe Biden in early February, came amid increased violence in the occupied West Bank in the wake of the October 7 Hamas attack. That violence has only continued in subsequent months.

The order angered Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who complained to the administration, calling it “inappropriate” and “highly problematic,” according to Axios.

Gopstein responded later on Friday, saying: “We overcame Pharaoh; we shall overcome Biden too,” which is his rephrasing of the commonly used expression said during Israel at Passover: “We overcame Pharaoh; we shall overcome this.”

This post has been updated with comment from Ben-Zion Gopstein.

The death toll in the Gaza Strip has risen to at least 34,012, following more than six months of war between Israel and Palestinian militants, the Ministry of Health in Gaza said on Friday.

In the last 24 hours, 42 Palestinians had died following Israeli attacks, the ministry reported.

A further 63 people had been injured over the same time period, taking the overall number of wounded in the Gaza Strip since the war began to 76,833, it said.

CNN cannot independently verify the ministry’s casualty figures.

A total of 276 aid trucks carrying humanitarian supplies underwent inspection and were admitted into Gaza on Friday, according to a statement from the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), the Israeli military body that administers Israeli policy in Gaza and the West Bank.

In addition to ground transportation, 144 pallets containing tens of thousands of aid packages were airdropped into northern Gaza on Friday, COGAT added.

Additionally, COGAT stated that new routes also saw significant activity, with 20 trucks passing through the Jordanian Route and eight trucks of flour arriving via the port of Ashdod in Israel.

“Nine trucks of medical aid were coordinated to the Emirati Hospital, and nine trucks of medical aid were coordinated to the ICRC Hospital,” the COGAT statement reads.

Israel last week said it had begun to take several major steps to ramp up humanitarian aid to Gaza amid intense pressure from the United States.

However, humanitarian officials said progress was slow-going and that much more needed to be done, as warnings grew of famine in the Palestinian enclave.

Germany’s Lufthansa airline has canceled its flights to Tel Aviv until Saturday morning and will avoid Iraqi airspace due to the security situation in the region.

LOT Polish airlines, meanwhile, canceled Friday’s flights to Tel Aviv and Beirut. It is not scheduled to fly to Israel on Saturday, and will decide about Sunday flights on Saturday, the airline said.

Lufthansa is scheduled to resume flights to Tel Aviv and plans to again fly through Iraqi airspace from Saturday 1 a.m. ET (8 a.m. in Israel).

The announcement follows the airline’s decision to extend its suspension of flights to the capitals of Iran and Lebanon.

Lufthansa said Wednesday that flights to Tehran and Beirut will remain cancelled and the airline will not use Iranian airspace up to and including April 30.

Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan confirmed Turkish media reports that Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh will visit Turkey on Saturday. Erdogan said, “What we will speak will be between us for now. And we will take our steps accordingly.” 

Regarding the latest escalation, Erdogan appeared to bemoan a lack of international leadership.  

“Israel says different things, Iran of course has different opinions. Nobody claimed the [attack]. And there is no reasonable statement so far. You can not say ‘What Iran says is right.’ You can not say ‘What Israel says is right’ either. When you look at USA, they say ‘We were aware, we were not aware,’ ” Erdogan said while speaking to reporters in Istanbul.

Erdogan also said he was not surprised by America vetoing the United Nations Security Council resolution that would have paved the way for full UN recognition of a Palestinian state on Thursday. 

“At the UNSC while the world supported Palestine, America is backing Israel again. We were not expecting anything different but this gave us an opportunity to see that,” he said.

Violence and uncertainty has gripped the Middle East since Hamas’ October 7 attacks on Israel, and Israel’s subsequent war in Gaza.

The war has threatened on several occasions to spill over into an all-out regional conflict, and those concerns have intensified in recent weeks, as Israel and Iran traded missile strikes.

Here’s a look at where and how violence has spread.

The United States has not been involved in any offensive operations, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said, after a US official told CNN that Israel had launched a strike on Iran.

“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,” Blinken said.

The US was given advance notification Thursday of an intended Israeli strike in the coming days but did not endorse the response, a second senior US official previously said.

As Israel struck Iran overnight in what appeared to be a limited retaliation for last weekend’s attack, the White House adopted a tightlipped approach that reflected US officials’ desire to keep a level of distance from the decision.

American officials, who said they did receive warning from Israel of their plans, neither endorsed nor condemned the counterstrike.

Instead, they sought to make clear the choice was Israel’s alone.

Even though US President Joe Biden advised restraint in a recent phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu – suggesting that a counterattack may not be necessary because of the successful interception of Iran’s missiles and drones - few within the White House believed Israel would do nothing. Officials had asked Israel for advance warning of the plans.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the G7 countries were “committed to de-escalating” tensions between Israel and Iran.

“We’re committed to Israel’s security. We’re also committed to de-escalating – to trying to bring this tension to a close,” Blinken said during a news conference at the conclusion of the group’s meeting in Capri, Italy, hours after a US official told CNN that Israel had launched a military strike on Iran.

He also said the countries shared “a commitment to hold Iran to account.”

Blinken said the nations condemned Iran’s weekend strikes on Israel. He called those attacks “unprecedented in scope and scale; scope because it was a direct attack on Israel from Iran, scale because it involved more than 300 munitions including ballistic missiles.”

Israeli soldiers who fail to protect Palestinians from settler violence or take part in such attacks face disciplinary action, the Israeli military told CNN on Friday, in response to a critical report from an international NGO.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) comments came after Human Rights Watch accused the IDF of failing to protect Palestinians in the occupied West Bank from violent attacks by settlers since October 7 and on some occasions taking part in those attacks.

HRW said in its report that such attacks have displaced Palestinians from 20 communities and entirely uprooted at least seven communities.

The IDF said that its mission was to “maintain the security of all residents of the area, and to act to prevent terrorism and activities that endanger the citizens of the State of Israel.”

If Israeli citizens break the law, the Israeli police are responsible for arresting and charging them, the IDF said.

The IDF conceded that its troops had witnessed some Israelis attacking Palestinians. 

Russia has urged “restraint” after Israel launched a military strike on Iran, a country with which the Kremlin has a close strategic partnership.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said during a call with journalists Friday that Russia is “studying” details of the attack, and that it would be “premature to comment” until its nature becomes clear.

But Peskov added: “In any case, no matter what, we continue to advocate restraint on the part of the parties and refusal of actions that could provoke a further escalation of tension in such a difficult region.”

Russia has relied on Iranian weapons during its ongoing invasion of Ukraine, frequently targeting Ukrainian cities with Iranian-made Shahed drones.

The two nations have a close partnership; Moscow has for years purchased drones and ballistic missiles from Iran, while providing Tehran with investment and trade.

Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid has criticized far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir for an “unforgivable tweet” that has been interpreted as ridiculing the military strike in Iran.

Ben Gvir published a one-word post on X, consisting only of a slang word meaning “lame” or “weak,” just hours after explosions were heard in Iran on Friday.

Israel had carried out a military strike on Iran, a US official told CNN. Israel has not commented and Iran has not identified the source of the attack.

Neither politician explicitly said that their comments referred to the attack on Iran.

Ben Gvir had previously said Israel should “go crazy” in its response to last weekend’s Iranian drone and missile attack on Israel.

Former prime minister Lapid said that Ben Gvir had “managed to mock and shame Israel from Tehran to Washington.”

“Never before has a minister in the security cabinet done such heavy damage to the country’s security, its image and its international status,” he added.

Ben Gvir’s fellow hardline right-wing minister Bezalel Smotrich on Wednesday had said that Israel’s response to Iran’s attack should inflict a “disproportionate toll” and “rock Tehran” to deter Iran from future strikes.

The finance minister said Israel “should rock Tehran, so everyone there will realize they shouldn’t mess with us.”

The UK’s Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said he wants to see “calm heads prevail” in the Middle East. 

“Significant escalation is not in anyone’s interest,” Sunak said at a press conference in London on Friday.

Israel carried out a military strike on Iran on Friday, a US official told CNN. Israel has not commented and Iran has not identified the source of the strike.

The British prime minister said that the UK is working with its allies to confirm the details of the attack.

“It’s a developing situation, it wouldn’t be right for me to speculate until the facts become clear.”

Sunak repeated his condemnation of Iran’s “barrage of missiles against Israel on Saturday” and reiterated Israel’s right to self-defense. 

Iran’s army commander-in-chief said the explosions in the sky above the province of Isfahan were related to anti-aircraft systems shooting at what he called a suspicious object that did not cause any damage, Iran’s official news agency IRNA reported.

 “Experts are investigating this incident and will inform about the matter after receiving the results,” Major General Abdolrahim Mousavi said, according to the IRNA report.

The commander-in-chief’s comments align with an earlier report from Iran’s Tasnim news agency, which quoted senior military commander Second Brigadier General Mihandoust in Isfahan saying there was no “damage or incident” following the explosion in that area.

The senior commander also said the blast heard were caused by “air defense firing at a suspicious object.”

China spoke out against any escalation of tensions in the Middle East after Iran was targeted in an aerial attack.

“China opposes any behavior that may further escalate tensions,” said Lin Jian, a spokesperson for China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, at a regular press briefing on Friday in Beijing.

Some context: Israel carried out Friday’s attack, a US official told CNN. Israel has not commented, and Iran has not identified the source of the attack. 

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani have called for restraint after an attack on Iran.

Israel carried out Friday’s attack, a US official told CNN. The Israeli military has not commented, and Iran has not identified the source of the attack. 

A “diplomatic effort” from EU and G7 members is already underway to quell tensions in the region after the strike, Tajani told reporters on the sidelines of a G7 foreign ministers summit in Italy.

“We call on everyone to be prudent to avoid an escalation in the area,” he said, reiterating Italy’s call for a ceasefire in Gaza.

EU chief von der Leyen also called for de-escalation, saying it is “absolutely necessary” for the Middle East to stay “stable,” urging all sides to “refrain from further action.”

“We have to do everything possible that all sides restrain from the escalation in that region,” von der Leyen stressed during a trip to Finland on Friday.

An aerial attack on Iran on Friday came fresh on the heels of earlier tit-for-tat Iranian and Israeli strikes, a potentially dangerous escalation of the Middle East conflict as a decades-long shadow war between the two countries emerges into the open.

What the US says: Israel carried out the strike, a US official told CNN. The US was given advance notification Thursday of an Israeli strike in the coming days, but “didn’t green light” an Israeli response, another senior US official told CNN.

What Israel says: Israel has not claimed responsibility or commented.

What Iran says: Iranian officials and state-aligned media have so far sought to play down the incident.

Iranian air defenses intercepted three drones, a Tehran official said, after reports of explosions near an army base in the central province of Isfahan. There were no reports of a missile attack, he said.

A loud blast near Isfahan city was caused by “air defense firing at a suspicious object,” a senior Iranian military commander said, adding there was no “damage or incident,” according to the state-aligned Tasnim news agency.

All facilities around Isfahan were secure, including significant nuclear sites, Iranian media reported. The UN nuclear watchdog confirmed no Iranian nuclear sites were damaged.

Why is this happening now? The attack follows an unprecedented Iranian assault on Israel last weekend that Tehran said was retaliation for a deadly suspected Israeli airstrike on Iran’s consulate in Syria on April 1. The reprisals marked the first time the Islamic Republic had launched a direct assault on Israel from its soil.

In the wake of Iran’s retaliatory attack, countries including the US called for restraint from Israel to prevent escalation, as Israel’s war against the Palestinian militant group Hamas in Gaza has already stoked regional tensions.

What’s next? Hours before the first reports of explosions in Iran emerged Friday, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian had warned that Tehran’s response to any further Israeli military action against it would be “immediate and at a maximum level.”

The details of a potential “maximum response” have been planned by Iran’s armed forces, he added.

Iranian media, however, appeared to downplay the severity of Friday’s attack, publishing footage and images of calm scenes in Isfahan and the northwestern city of Tabriz.

A regional intelligence source with knowledge of Iran’s potential reaction said Tehran was not expected to respond to the strikes — but did not give a reason.

Here are more details on what we know.

A regional intelligence source with knowledge of Iran’s potential reaction to Friday’s strike, which was carried out by Israel according to a US official, said that direct state-to-state strikes between the two enemies were “over.”

The source, who was not authorized to speak publicly, spoke to CNN on the condition of anonymity about two and a half hours after CNN first reported the attacks.

The source said that, to his knowledge, Iran was not expected to respond to the strikes — but did not give a reason.

Iranian government officials have so far sought to play down the impact of Friday’s attack.

The Israeli military has not commented, and Iran has not identified the source of the attack. 

Israel would need significant support from Western allies to enter into a full-blown war in the Middle East, according to Maha Yahya, director of the Carnegie Middle East Center research foundation.  

“Israel does not have the capacity for a long-term all-out war without external support. It would need the commitment from the United States to continue providing arms. It relies on the United States and other Western powers on a number of military fronts,” she told CNN’s John Vause.

Appeals made by Israel’s Western allies for it to exercise restraint in the wake of Iran’s attack last weekend likely played a large role in Israeli officials’ calculations on how strongly to retaliate, she added.

“It was clear that there was tremendous (international) pressure on Israel not to escalate things further.”

For context: The US, the UK and France all helped Israel counter Iranian missiles and drones during last weekend’s attack. Israel’s military said “99%” of projectiles fired by Iran were intercepted by Israel and its partners, with only “a small number” of ballistic missiles reaching Israel.

Iran’s media on Friday published footage and images of calm scenes in the areas where air defenses were activated and explosions were reported.

Israel had carried out a strike on Iran hours earlier, a US official told CNN. The Israeli military has not commented and Iran has not identified the source of the attack.

Air defenses intercepted three drones, an Iranian official said. And air defenses caused blasts near an army base in Isfahan province, according to Iranian media.

Iranian media showed residents walking near Isfahan landmarks such as the Naqsh-e Jahan square and along the Zayandeh Rud river, while normal traffic was reported in the city, according to semi-official news outlet ISNA.

Isfahan airport was operating as normal after airports were earlier closed around the country, according to semi-official Tasnim news.

In the northwest city of Tabriz — where air defenses were also activated —video showed normal traffic and pedestrians in parks and on the streets.

“Material losses” have been reported in southern Syria after an Israeli strike, Syrian state media SANA reported Friday, citing a military source.

Israel targeted Syria’s “air defense sites in the southern region. The aggression led to material losses,” SANA reported.

The Israeli military told CNN that it does not comment on reports in foreign media. 

Iranian officials appear to view Friday’s attack — which was limited in scope — as Israel trying to “save face” after it was targeted by Iran in strikes over the weekend, according to Abas Aslani, an Iranian journalist and researcher.

“It’s a bit early to judge whether it’s over or not, but at the moment… it doesn’t seem to be a regional war emerging,” Aslani told CNN, noting there is still a chance the situation could escalate.

Since a suspected Israeli attack on the Iranian consulate in Syria earlier this month, people in Iran have mostly stood behind their government’s airstrikes against Israel on Saturday, he said. It is “a matter of national pride” for many Iranians.

“Whether they are reformist or conservatives, critical or supportive of the government, because it’s an issue of security they have been mostly supportive of Iran’s action against Israel,” Aslani said.

There has been no damage to Iran’s nuclear sites after an aerial attack in Isfahan province on Friday, the United Nations nuclear watchdog said, as it called for restraint in the region.

The International Atomic Energy Agency said its chief, Rafael Grossi, “continues to call for extreme restraint from everybody and reiterates that nuclear facilities should never be a target in military conflicts.”

“IAEA can confirm that there is no damage to Iran’s nuclear sites … [and] is monitoring the situation very closely,” it said.

Earlier, an Iranian official said air defenses intercepted three drones. Multiple Iranian state-aligned news agencies reported that sites associated with the country’s nuclear program were “completely secure” and the attack appeared to be limited in scope.

Some context: A US official told CNN that Israel carried out a strike inside Iran. The target was not nuclear, the official added. Prior to Friday’s strike, the US expectation was that Israel would not target civilian or nuclear facilities, a second US official said.

Israel has carried out a strike inside Iran, a US official told CNN on Friday, in a move that threatens to further escalate conflict in the Middle East.

Iran’s air defense systems were activated in several locations after explosions were heard close to the airport and an army base in the province of Isfahan, state media reported early Friday morning.

Israel has not claimed responsibility for the attack.

Here’s what we know:

The attack on Iran early Friday was likely intended as both a retaliatory measure and a cautionary message, a retired US Army Major General told CNN’s Michael Holmes.

For days, Israel has been weighing its response to unprecedented weekend strikes from Iran, which were launched in retaliation for a suspected Israeli strike on its embassy compound in Syria earlier this month.

A US official told CNN that Friday’s attack was an Israeli strike. Israel has declined to comment on it.

“Israel must maintain its vigilance” in case Iran decides to respond with another show of force, retired Major General Mark MacCarley said.

By targeting the Iranian province of Isfahan — the site of significant nuclear facilities —Israel was likely warning that it could easily overwhelm Iran’s defenses, MacCarley said.

“I think that there was a very deliberate thought process on the part of the Israeli war cabinet,” he said.

“Israelis had to retaliate, but at the same time, within that retaliation was a message, and that is, ‘Yes, we can get through. Don’t do it again. If you do it again, then all heck will break out.’”

A loud blast heard near the Iranian city of Isfahan was caused by “air defense firing at a suspicious object,” an Iranian senior military commander said, according to Iran’s state-aligned Tasnim news agency.

There was no “damage or incident,” said senior military commander Second Brigadier General Mihandoust in Isfahan province, according to Tasnim.

A US official told CNN that Israel had carried out a strike inside Iran. The Israeli military has not commented.

Iranian state media are reporting that all facilities in the area are secure, including significant nuclear facilities.

Three explosions were heard early Friday near the military base where fighter jets are located in Isfahan province, Iran’s semi-official FARS news agency reported.

Iran’s National Cyberspace Center spokesman, Hossein Dalirian, said air defenses shot down three drones and “there are no reports of a missile attack for now.”

Iran has lifted flight suspensions put in place after reports of explosions near a military base in Isfahan province, according to the spokesperson of the Civil Aviation Organization.

“We inform you that the operational restrictions imposed on the airports have been removed and the airlines are allowed to carry out scheduled flights,” the spokesperson said.

Flights have resumed at Mehrabad Airport and Imam Khomeini International Airport, the two major airports in Iran’s capital, Tehran, after being suspended earlier today.

Iran had earlier temporarily suspended all flights heading to the cities of “Tehran, Isfahan and Shiraz, the airports of the West, North West and South West,” state-run Mehr TV reported.

Outgoing flights were also briefly canceled.

Following a strike in Iran’s Isfahan province, Iranian state media are reporting that all facilities in the area are secure, including significant nuclear facilities, CNN International Diplomatic Editor Nic Robertson reports.

Though a US official told CNN Israel has carried out a strike inside Iran, Israel has not claimed responsibility for the attack.

“The overall impression that’s being related by the Iranian government and other media outlets in Iran is that whatever events have happened — and they do leave it rather ambiguous — it has not damaged significantly any important facilities near Isfahan,” Robertson said.

State media is also reporting that they have not had any enemy aircraft come into Iranian airspace, he added.

The strike against Iran early Friday is just the latest in an intensifying and uncertain series of attacks in the Middle East.

Should a tit-for-tat between Israel and Iran develop, the conflict between the nations threatens to get “very grim very quickly,” an international relations expert told CNN.

Iran could choose to target Israel through proxies in Lebanon and Iraq, as well as with the help of Hamas in Gaza and the Houthi militant group in Yemen, Ghosh said.

Friday’s strikes have pitched the conflict into “unknown territory,” he said.

“With this escalation of risk-taking, there’s always a chance that the next step up is going to be the step too far,” Ghosh said.

CNN Global Affairs Analyst Kim Dozier said this “escalation ladder” between the countries could lead to “something really dire — an all-out back and forth between the two.”

US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin spoke with Israeli Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant earlier Thursday about “regional threats and Iran’s destabilizing actions in the Middle East,” according to a Pentagon readout.

The call happened before Israel carried out a strike inside Iran. The Pentagon readout does not mention any discussion of Israel’s plans to attack.

Austin also discussed “the importance of increasing and sustaining the flow of humanitarian aid to Gazan civilians, including via the new route from Ashdod Port in Israel,” the readout said.

CNN reported Thursday night that Israel had told the US that it would be retaliating against Iran in the coming days, according to a senior US official.

Iranian air defenses shot down three drones Friday, according to a Tehran official, as state media said no large-scale strikes or explosions had been reported following blasts near the central city of Isfahan.

It comes after a US official told CNN Friday that Israel had carried out a strike inside Iran, in a move that threatens to raise regional tensions.

Iran’s air defense systems were activated in several regions as a precaution against potential aerial threats, according to state news agency IRNA.

“Following the activation of air defense in some parts of the country to deal with some possible targets, reports indicate that so far, no large-scale strikes or explosions caused by any air threat has been reported,” IRNA said early Friday local time.

Extensive checks in Isfahan, a critical central province with significant nuclear facilities, indicate that all sensitive military and security installations remain secure, with no incidents reported.

Missile defense systems were not activated, IRNA added.

The Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) urged its citizens in Israel to “depart if it’s safe to do so.”

“There’s a high threat of military reprisals & terrorist attacks against Israel & Israeli interests across the region. The security situation could deteriorate quickly. We urge Australians in Israel or the Occupied Palestinian Territories to depart if it’s safe to do so,” read a post in the Smart Traveller account on X, which posts advice from DFAT.

The department warned that “military attacks may result in airspace closures, flight cancellations & diversions & other travel disruptions.”

It is concerned that Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion International Airport “may pause operations due to heightened security concerns at any time, & at short notice.”

Israel has carried out a strike inside Iran, a US official tells CNN, in a move that threatens to trigger further deadly conflict throughout the Middle East.

The attack came hours after Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian told CNN that if Israel takes any further military action against Iran, its response would be “immediate and at a maximum level.”

The details of a potential “maximum response” have been planned by Iran’s armed forces, he said.

Israel had for days been weighing its response to Iran’s unprecedented weekend strikes, most of which were intercepted.

Iran launched the attack in retaliation for a suspected Israeli strike on its embassy compound in Syria earlier this month.

That airstrike destroyed the consulate building and killed at least seven officials, including two top commanders.

The Israeli military said they “don’t have a comment at this time,” when asked by CNN about reports of explosions in Iran.

Israel carried out a strike inside Iran early Friday local time, a US official tells CNN. The target is not nuclear, the official said.

The US also said it had advance warning of Israel’s retaliation against Iran but “didn’t endorse” it, a senior US official said.

Israel had told the US on Thursday it would be retaliating against Iran in the coming days, a senior US official said.

“We didn’t endorse the response,” the official said.

Israel had been weighing a response to Iran’s weekend airstrikes targeting the Jewish state, most of which were intercepted.

Israel has carried out a strike inside Iran, a US official tells CNN. The attack came just hours after Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian told CNN in an interview that if Israel takes any further military action against it would be “immediate and at a maximum level.”

Iran’s state-aligned Tasnim news says nuclear facilities in Isfahan province are “completely secure,” citing a “reliable source.”

Other Iranian media outlets are reporting the same.

Israel has carried out a strike inside Iran, a US official told CNN Friday. The target of the strike was not nuclear, the official added.

Israel has carried out a strike inside Iran, a US official tells CNN, in a move that threatens to push the region deeper into conflict.

The target is not nuclear, the official said.

Prior to the Israeli strike Friday (local time), the US expectation was that they would not target civilian or nuclear facilities, another senior US official told CNN.

CNN has previously reported that Israel told the US its response would be limited in scope. US intelligence had suggested Israel was weighing a narrow and limited strike inside Iran because they felt like they had to respond with a kinetic action of some kind given the unprecedented scale of the Iranian attack

The range of targets was “never specified in precise terms but nuclear and civilian locations were clearly not in that category,” the second official added.

The US has been urging Israel not to respond to last weekend’s Iranian attack, which President Joe Biden on Thursday called “unprecedented.” The US “didn’t green light” an Israeli response, the second official said.

Oil prices surged nearly 4% and US stock futures fell sharply Thursday evening amid reports of explosions in Iran.

In recent trading, US oil prices climbed 3.7% to $85.80 a barrel. Brent crude, the world benchmark, gained 3.4% to $90.13 a barrel. 

Energy prices moved sharply higher as Iranian news agencies reported explosions heard near Iran’s Isfahan Airport.

The developments drove US stock futures steadily lower, with Dow futures down 480 points, or 1.3%. Nasdaq futures lost almost 2%.

“The market has been on edge since Iran launched a missile and drone attack on the Jewish state over the weekend,” said analysts from ANZ on Friday.

“Israel’s response could determine whether oil supplies are ultimately under threat.”

Gold futures were up 1% at $2,422.4 per ounce in morning Asian trade with investors piling into safe-haven investments.

But stock markets in Asia sank as appetite for risk weakened, according to analysts.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 slid 3.5%. South Korea’s Kospi lost 3%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 1.5%. China’s Shanghai Composite inched down 0.1%.

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian warned Israel on Thursday against taking any military action against Iran.

“In case the Israeli regime embarks on adventurism again and takes action against the interests of Iran, the next response from us will be immediate and at a maximum level,” Amir-Abdollahian told CNN’s Erin Burnett in an exclusive live interview. 

The foreign minister said Iran sincerely hoped Israel would not repeat “the previous egregious error,” referencing the apparent Israeli strike on Iran’s embassy complex in Damascus, Syria.

“Our response will be decisive through the Swiss embassy in Tehran,” he said. “We’ve announced to the White House, sent a message to the White House and Washington DC, the administration in which we’ve reiterated that if the Israeli regime commits the great error once again our response will be decisive, definitive and regretful for them,” Amir-Abdollahian said from the Iranian Permanent Mission to United Nations — one of the only places he is allowed to be the US given the State Department restrictions.

The missiles and drones that Iran fired against Israel on Saturday were carried out in response to the suspected Israeli strikes and “stayed within a minimum of frameworks,” he said, adding that the intent was to take “equal action,” and “to let it be known we do have the means to respond.” But he warned that if Israel chooses to retaliate, “the next response from us will be immediate and at a maximum level.”