According to American television ABC News, which quoted a senior US official, Israel would launch an attack on Iran in retaliation for what happened over the weekend. “A signal to Iran that Israel has the ability to strike inside the country,” an Israeli source told the Washington Post, commenting on tonight's limited attack on Iranian territory, near Isfahan. The statement was also taken up by the Israeli newspaper Haaretz. While the commander in chief of the Iranian Army, Abdolrahim Mousavi, defined the reports attributing the attacks in Isfahan to Israel as “absurd”, claiming that the explosions were the sound of the shooting down of “flying objects”. Iran International reports it. Regarding Tehran's potential retaliation against the Jewish state, an imminent response is not scheduled. Mousavi said Israel “has already seen Iran's response”.
The Israeli military has “no comment to make at this time,” but there would be no nuclear plants among the targets, as also confirmed by the IAEA. This was reported by CNN, which had asked for news regarding the explosions heard in Iran. The objectives, according to a representative of the US administration, are therefore not nuclear. Israel's response to Iran's attack came on the birthday of Iranian Supreme Leader Khamenei, born on April 19, 1939. Several analysts on social media are pointing this out. Some Israeli profiles are writing mockingly: 'Happy birthday, Khamenei.'
Israel had warned that it would respond, after Iran launched hundreds of missiles and drones during the night between Saturday and Sunday. Most of them had been intercepted and the damage caused had been very modest.
Just yesterday, Israel warned the United States that it would retaliate against Iran in the coming days: CNN reports, citing a senior American leader. «We have not approved the response», the source said. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke yesterday afternoon with his Israeli counterpart, Yoav Gallant, about regional threats and Iran's destabilizing actions in the Middle East: Pentagon spokesman Patrick Ryder reported this. The two leaders also discussed the importance of increasing and sustaining the flow of humanitarian aid to civilians in Gaza, including through the new route from the port of Ashdod in Israel.
Here's what we know so far
The “strong explosions” reported last night in Iran, in the central region of Isfahan where, among other things, a nuclear site is located, are attributable to Israel's feared reaction to the Iranian attack last Saturday. Even if at the moment there is no official confirmation from Tel Aviv, everything leads us to think that it has been decided the retaliation that Israel had threatened in recent days, despite repeated calls from the international community for prudence.
Tehran reported three explosions occurred at dawn near a military base in the center of the country, as reported by the official Fars agency. According to state television, these “strong explosions” were in the central province of Isfahan, and the causes are not yet known.
Iran immediately activated defense aerial in several provinces. According to the official IRNA agency, based on the information reported by its journalists, no significant damage was reported.
That area of the central Islamic Republic is home to many of Iran's known nuclear sites. Nuclear plants located in the Isfahan region are 'completely safe', the Tasnim agency said. “The important installations, especially the nuclear ones, are completely safe and no accident has been reported,” the official Iranian agency IRNA also underlined.
Israel has so far not commented on what happened. In recent days, he had warned that he would retaliate after Iran launched hundreds of missiles and drones into Israeli territory over the weekend, itself a reaction to the April 1 raid on the Iranian consulate in Damascus, which was blamed on Israel. The Israeli army also announced that warning sirens had been activated in northern Israel. Not even the US has officially commented, but NBC and CNN, citing sources familiar with the matter and an American official respectively, reported that Israel had warned Washington in advance of the attack, without the United States approving the operation or participating in its execution. “We have not approved the response,” a US official said, according to CNN.
Foreign Minister Antonio Tajanifrom Capri where he is chairing the meeting of the heads of diplomacy of the G7, told Rai News 24 that he had spoken with the Tehran embassy and he reassured that Italians are safebut urged everyone to exercise caution to avoid an escalation in the region.
The Emirates airline Flydubai has canceled its flights to Iran; Iranian airspace was closed for a few hours. Australia has urged its citizens to leave Israel and the Palestinian territories, due to the “strong threat of military retaliation and terrorist attacks.”