Israeli forces on Friday morning launched a missile attack on Iran in a retaliatory strike, said a senior US official to ABC News. The missile launch came after Iran's attack last Saturday where Israel faced more than 300 uncrewed drones and missiles toward targets throughout the country, Israeli military officials previously said. All but a few were intercepted by Israel and its allies, including the United States, officials said.
The state-run IRNA news agency said the defenses fired across several provinces. It did not elaborate on what caused the batteries to fire, though people across the area reported hearing the sounds. The semiofficial Fars and Tasnim news agencies reported the sound of blasts, without giving a cause. State television acknowledged “loud noise" in the area.
Commercial flights began diverting their routes over western Iran without explanation early Friday as one semiofficial news agency in the Islamic Republic reported “explosions” heard over the city of Isfahan. State television acknowledged “loud noise.” The incident comes as tensions remain high in the wider Middle East after Iran's unprecedented missile-and-drone attack on Israel.
Dubai-based carriers Emirates and FlyDubai began diverting around western Iran about 4:30 a.m. local time. They offered no explanation, though local warnings to aviators suggested the airspace may have been closed. The semiofficial Fars news agency reported on explosions being heard over Isfahan near its international airport. It offered no explanation. However, Isfahan is home to a major airbase for the Iranian military, as well as sites associated with its nuclear program.
Iranian state television began a scrolling, on-screen alert acknowledging a “loud noise” near Isfahan, without immediately elaborating. The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Iran's attack came more than six months after Hamas terrorists invaded Israel on October 7, following which the Israeli military began its bombardment of the Gaza Strip. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the country's war cabinet have met several times since the Iran strikes, and as ABC News previously reported, at least three strikes were previously aborted.
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