Israel has launched an attack in Iran, U.S. media reported, citing U.S. government officials, in what appears to be retaliatory strikes for the unprecedented air attack Tehran launched last weekend on its sworn enemy.
Iranian state media said explosions were heard early on April 19 near the central city of Isfahan.
Video on CNN and social media showed several large explosions that were said to be near Isfahan.
Iranian state news agency IRNA said air defenses fired at a large air base in Isfahan that is home to Iran’s aging fleet of U.S.-made F-14 Tomcats, acquired before the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Isfahan also houses facilities that are part of Iran’s nuclear program, including its underground Natanz enrichment site,
It did not give any further details and it could not be independently confirmed that an Israeli attack had been launched.
Iranian state TV reported that air defenses fired in several provinces amid reports of drones flying above.
No Tehran official directly acknowledged that Iran was under attack and Israel’s military did not comment.
Tehran launched more than 300 drones and missiles at Israel in the early morning hours of April 14, almost all of which were shot down by Israeli defense systems, along with intercepts by forces from the United States, France, Britain, and Jordan.
The attack by Tehran had been widely anticipated in Israel following a suspected Israeli air strike on the Iranian Embassy compound in Damascus on April 1 that killed two brigadier generals.
Since then, diplomats and politicians around the world, fearing another major escalation of fighting in the Middle East, had urged restraint as they awaited Israel’s response.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on April 17 that Israel will decide how and whether it will respond to the unprecedented attack on its soil.
Israel and Iran have been bitter enemies for decades but Iran’s was the first direct attack by one on the other’s soil instead of through proxy forces or by targeting each other’s assets operating in third countries.
