Iran-Israel Crisis Updates: Iran turned on its air defense system this morning in response to allegations of Israeli drone and missile strikes. According to ABC News, which cited a US official, Israel fired a missile toward an airport in Iran. There was a loud explosion in Isfahan, according to the local media.
Iran-Israel Crisis:
Iran detected drones early on April 19, increasing concerns about a potential Israeli strike in revenge for Tehran’s unprecedented drone-and-missile assault on the nation. Iran then launched air defenses at a key air base and a nuclear complex close to the central city of Isfahan.
Since no Iranian official had raised the notion and Israel‘s military did not answer a request for information, it remained unclear whether the nation was under attack. But in the wake of Saturday’s attack on Israel, despite its own operations against Iran in Syria and its own conflict with Hamas in the Gaza Strip, emotions have remained high.
Iran-Israel Crisis Facts:
The Isfahan province is home to many Iranian nuclear plants, the most prominent of which being Natanz, the hub of Iran’s uranium enrichment program. Iran’s Tasnim news agency said that nuclear facilities in Isfahan are “completely secure”.
Tehran‘s Imam Khomeini International Airport was blocked to all aircraft, according to a message to pilots placed on a US Federal Aviation Administration website.
According to flight paths reported by monitoring website Flightradar24, certain Emirates and Flydubai planes flying over Iran early on Friday made unexpected fast diversions away from airspace.
According to AFP, the Israeli military said it has no comment at this time following reports of explosives in Iran.
Israel has warned it would respond after Iran launched hundreds of missiles and drones at it over the weekend. The majority of them were intercepted.
US views:
Early on Friday, American TV networks reported unidentified U.S. authorities as saying that Israel was the attack’s perpetrator. However, U.S. officials declined to comment. Anonymous Israeli officials claiming to have witnessed the attack were cited by the New York Times.
