An Israeli missile strike targeted a site in Iran early Friday morning, two Israeli defense officials confirmed to The New York Times. The report came shortly after local sources reported explosions in Isfahan in central Iran, in the As-Suwayda Governorate of southern Syria, and in the Baghdad area and Babil Governorate of Iraq early Friday morning.
The Times report also cited three Iranian officials saying the strike hit a military air base near Isfahan in central Iran. A US official then told CNN that the Iranian target was not nuclear. Videos from Isfahan appeared to show Iranian air defenses activated in the skies over the area.
A senior US official also confirmed this on Friday morning the attack, stating that “We were not surprised, while also telling Walla that Israel informed the US in advance of the strike.
The Iranian semi-official Fars News Agency reported that an explosion was heard in Qahjavarestan, east of Isfahan and near the Isfahan International Airport. Fars stressed that the cause of the explosion was unknown as of yet.
Fars and other Iranian news agencies reported that air defenses were seemingly activated near Isfahan in response to small drones.
Iranian air defenses were also activated in Tabriz in northwestern Iran on Friday morning after a suspicious object was spotted in the air, according to Fars.
According to Bloomberg News, Israeli officials notified the US on Thursday that they planned to launch a strike in the next 24-48 hours.
Reports of strikes on sites belonging to Syrian army
Syrian reports on Friday morning indicated airstrikes had also targeted sites belonging to the Syrian Army in the As-Suwayda and Daraa Governorates of southern Syria.
مراسل السويداء 24: أصوات قوية لتحليق طيران حربي في الريف الجنوبي لمحافظة #السويداء جنوب #سوريا، سبقها بدقائق اصوات ثلاث انفجارات متتالية سمع دويها في مدينة السويداء والريف الغربي..يتبع.. pic.twitter.com/2bgRMFEpw7
— السويداء 24 (@suwayda24) April 19, 2024
According to the local news site As-Suwayda24, the airstrikes targeted radar sites belonging to the Syrian military between Qarda and Izraa in Daraa in southern Syria.
Residents in Erbil and Mosul in Iraq reported hearing the sounds of fighter jets as well early Friday morning.
تفعيل أنظمة الدفاع الجوي في محافظة أصفهان الإيرانية#العراق pic.twitter.com/AvGjw3QJTd
— العراق نيوز (@Al_Iraq_News) April 19, 2024
Flight trackers showed several flights headed for Iran had turned around and diverted from their planned routes, including several Emirati flights.
The Iranian Mehr News Agency reported that flights to Tehran, Isfahan, and Shiraz had been suspended as of Friday morning.
Shortly after the Israeli missile strikes were reported, Florida Senator Marco Rubio published a post on X reading “Israel has the ability to conduct strikes against targets inside Iran without entering Iranian air space from aircraft over Syrian and Iraqi airspace.”
Israeli media reported that several senior Israeli officials were present in the Kirya military headquarters in Tel Aviv on Friday morning.
The explosions came as Israel promised to respond to a drone and missile attack conducted by Iran on Saturday night against Israel. The Iranian attack came in response to an alleged Israeli airstrike that targeted a building next to the Iranian embassy in Damascus in which Mohammad Reza Zahedi – a senior IRGC commander in charge of Iran’s operations in Syria and Lebanon – was killed.
Iranian officials had warned in recent days that any Israeli strike on Iran would be met with a strong and quick response.
This is a developing story.
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