explainer
Iran deployed air defense forces to intercept and destroy three drones over the city of Isfahan, but downplayed the incident.
Iranian air defense systems were deployed to multiple areas of the country early Friday following reports of an explosion near the airport in Isfahan province, as tensions with Israel rapidly escalate, state media said.
Explosions were also reported in Iraq and Syria on Friday.
Here's what we know so far:
What happened and when?
- Iran fired on air defense batteries in several provinces and shot down three small drones over the capital city of Isfahan, state media reported. The report came hours after U.S. media reported that a senior U.S. official said an Israeli missile had landed on Iranian soil.
- “We also understand that air defense systems over the city of Tabriz in northwest Iran have also been activated,” Al Jazeera's Dorsa Jabari said in a report from Tehran.
- Flights were suspended in various locations including the capital Tehran and Isfahan. However, when it resumed about four hours later, there were no reports of casualties.
- “At 4:45 (01:15 GMT) we heard gunshots. Nothing was happening,” said a reporter from Iran's semi-official Tasnim news agency. “It was the air defense forces you were monitoring, and over there too.”
- Explosions were also reported in Iraq and Syria, with Iranian state media saying multiple military facilities in Syria were targeted.
- Syrian state-run SANA news agency Said At around 2:55 a.m. (23:25 GMT) on Friday, “enemies of Israel launched a missile attack.” Israel targeted “air defense positions in the southern region” of Syria. “This attack resulted in significant losses,” SANA reported.
- This escalation occurred in response to an April 1 Israeli attack on the Iranian embassy compound in Syria that killed seven members of the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC). This comes less than a week after more than 300 missiles and drones were launched into the area. Tensions between Iran and Israel are rising as Israel's war in Gaza continues.
Where is Isfahan? Where did the attack take place?
- Iran's Fars news agency said “three explosions” were heard near the city of Qahjavarestan in Isfahan province, close to the province's airport and army air base.
- Isfahan, located in central Iran, is home to the country's uranium conversion facility in the southeastern Zherdejan region. In addition, the Natanz uranium enrichment facility is also located in the state.
- Isfahan is also home to an important Iranian air base, home to Iran's aging fleet of US-made F-14 Tomcats purchased before the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
- The targeted Syrian area is due west of Isfahan and about 1,500 kilometers (930 miles) east of Israel, the Associated Press reported. In Iraq, it was not immediately clear which areas were affected.
Did Israel attack Iran?
- Iranian media, citing Iranian officials, suggested there was no evidence yet of foreign involvement in the attack. Al Jazeera's Jabari said Iranian media was downplaying the incident.
- Instead, some unconfirmed Iranian media reports suggested the attack may have been launched using small quadcopters, essentially unmanned autonomous helicopters.
- Israel has not yet commented on the attack.
- US broadcasters quoted US officials as saying an Israeli missile had struck Iran. CNN reported that the US had been given advance notice of the attack but “did not give the go-ahead.”
- Hours after the explosion, reports said Isfahan was “calm.” But some analysts say that regardless of the extent of the damage, the attack sends a message to Iran about its security vulnerabilities.
- Hamidreza Azizi, a visiting fellow at the German Institute for International and Security Studies, said Isfahan is “deep within the country,” which means that “Israel's intelligence operations, regardless of whether the attack originates domestically or internationally, It is said that this may indicate “operational access.”
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Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani told a news conference that the US government had informed the G7 of the attack “at the last minute” from Israel, but that “the US attack was not shared with us.” It was just information. ”
What does Israel say?
- Israel has not claimed responsibility for the attack, and the military has not commented.
- The Washington Post reported that Israeli officials said the attack was “carefully orchestrated” to signal to Iran that Israel had the ability to reach Iran with weapons. It is said that it was something.
- But the attack on Iran revealed divisions within Israel.
- Far-right Security Minister Itamar Ben Givr suggested in a social media post that suspicions of an Israeli attack on Iran were weak. Bengvir has called for a tough military response following Iran's April 13 retaliatory attack on Israel.
- Opposition leader Yair Lapid also hit back. “Never before has a minister caused so much damage to a country's security, image and international standing,” Lapid wrote to X. “With a single, inexcusable tweet, Mr. Ben Gvir succeeded in ridiculing and embarrassing Israel from Tehran to Washington,” he said.
What did Iran say?
- Iranian authorities say shots were fired at some objects, but no damage was caused.
- The attack came a day after the Revolutionary Guards warned Israel not to attack Iran's nuclear facilities.
What is your background?
- Israel and Iran are long-standing rivals in the region. Iran has maintained steady pressure on Israel through its allies, particularly Hezbollah in Lebanon.
- Israel's war in Gaza, which began after the Palestinian group Hamas led an attack in southern Israel on October 7, has intensified existing tensions.
- Hezbollah and Iranian-backed militant groups in Iraq and Yemen have targeted U.S. military positions in the region, and Iranian leaders have warned that their allies will continue their attacks until Israel's war in Gaza ends.
- But fears of a major regional war grew in early April, when Iran accused Israel of bombing its diplomatic mission in Damascus, Syria. Since then, the region has remained on alert following intelligence warnings of an impending attack by Iran. On April 13, Iran launched more than 300 missiles and drones toward Israel. This is the first time that Israel has been targeted from within Iranian territory.
- Since then, concerns about an Israeli counterattack have grown.
What's next?
- On Thursday, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian warned that Iran would not hesitate to take “a firm and appropriate response.” [Israel]” In case of attack.
- But on Friday, Tehran's Al Jazeera's Jabari news agency reported that an Iranian commander was asked in the media if the attack would provoke a reaction and said: “We are already seeing Iran's reaction.” Jabari's report said this could indicate that Friday's attack could end, at least for the time being, “a spate of threats and counter-threats by Iranian and Israeli officials.”
