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"Material losses" reported in southern Syria following an Israeli strike, Syrian state media says
From CNN's Benjamin Brown and Irene Nasser
"Material losses" have been reported in southern Syria after an Israeli strike, Syrian state media SANA reported Friday, citing a military source.
"At approximately 2:55 am today, the Israeli enemy launched an aggression with missiles," SANA reported.
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.
Too early to tell whether regional war will emerge, Iranian journalist says
From CNN's John Vause and Elizabeth Wolfe
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.
UN watchdog says no damage to Iran nuclear sites, calls for restraint
From CNN's Adam Pourahmadi and Irene Nasser
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.
The Middle East is on edge after a strike on Iran. Here's what we know
From CNN staff
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:
- What Iranian reports say: Threeblasts were heard near a military base where fighter jets are locatedin northwest Isfahan, Iran’s semi-official FARS newsagency reported. Following the strike, Iranian media reported that all facilities around Isfahan are secure, including significant nuclear facilities in the area. 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."
- What was the target? That remains unclear, but the US official told CNN the strike's target was not nuclear. According to FARS, a military radar was a possible target. Ghahjaworstan, where an explosion was heard, is located near Isfahan Airport and “the eighth hunting base of the Army Air Force,” FARS reported.
- How did we get here? Tensions remain acute across the Middle East as Israel wages war in Gaza against Palestinian militant group Hamas, an Iranian ally. Meanwhile, a decades-longshadow conflict between Israel and Iran erupted into the open on the weekend when Iran launched an unprecedented attack on Israel that Tehran said was retaliation for a deadly suspected Israeli airstrike on Iran’s consulate in Syria.
- What Israel says: The Israeli military said Friday they "don't have a comment at this time" when asked by CNN about reports of explosions in Iran. Israel's war cabinet has met periodically this week without announcing any definitive action following the Iranian strikes on Israel last weekend.
- What the US says: Israel’s allies, including the United States, have called for restraint from Israel in a bid to preventa regional war. The US "didn’t green light" an Israeli response, another senior US official told CNN. Prior to Friday's strike, the US expectation was that Israel would not target civilian or nuclear facilities, the second official said.
- What happens next? That also remains unclear. Reports of the explosions came hours after Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahiantold CNNthat ifIsraeltakes any further military action against Iran, its response would be “immediate and at a maximum level.” He added: “If the Israeli regime commits the grave error once again our response will be decisive, definitive and regretful for them.”
Attack was a calculated message to Iran, retired US Army general says
From CNN's Elizabeth Wolfe
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.'"
Blast heard near Isfahan was caused by air defense firing at "suspicious object," Iranian official says
From CNN's Adam Pourahmadi and Irene Nasser
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.
Threeexplosions were heard early Friday near the military base where fighter jets are located in Isfahan province, Iran's semi-official FARS news agency reported.
"The defense is activated in response to an object that is likely to be adrone," sources tell FARS news.
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 lifts flight suspensions put in place following reports of explosions
From CNN's Adam Pourahmadi and Irene Nasser
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.
Iranian state media reports no major disruption to Isfahan's infrastructure
From CNN's Nic Robertson and Elizabeth Wolfe
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 gloves have come off:" Experts warn an escalating tit-for-tat could have dire consequences
From CNN's Elizabeth Wolfe
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.
"The gloves have come off. Iran's response is unpredictable," said Bloomberg senior editor Bobby Ghosh.
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."
