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Countries around the world urged for de-escalation on Friday as US media reported Israeli strikes on Iran in the latest tit-for-tat exchange between the two arch-foes, whose decades of shadow war has broken out into the open and threatened to drag the region deeper into conflict.
Israel had previously warned it would hit back after Iran fired hundreds of missiles and drones at Israel almost a week ago, in retaliation for a deadly strike — which Tehran blamed on its foe — that levelled Iran’s consular annex at its embassy in Syria.
What we know so far:
- US media says Israel carried out retaliatory strikes on Iran; Iranian media denies reports country attacked from abroad
- US media report says Washington pre-notified of reported strike
- Global calls for de-escalation pour in
- Syria says Israeli army targeted army position in country’s south
While most of the Iranian strikes were intercepted, fears of a major regional spillover from Israel’s Gaza offensive have since soared.
Today, Iran’s state media reported explosions in the central province of Isfahan, as US media quoted officials saying Israel had carried out retaliatory strikes on its arch-rival.
Air defence systems over several Iranian cities were activated, state media reported, after the country’s official broadcaster said explosions were heard near the city of Isfahan.
Iran’s Tasnim news agency, citing “informed sources,” denied that Iran had been attacked from abroad.
“Contrary to the rumours and claims” made in foreign media, “there are no reports of an attack from abroad on Iran’s central city of Isfahan or any other part of the country”, Tasnim said.
Three Iranian officials told The New York Times that small drones carried out the attack, possibly launched from inside Iran, and that its radar systems had not detected unidentified aircraft entering Iranian airspace.
Fars news agency reported “three explosions” heard close to Qahjavarestan, near Isfahan airport and the 8th Shekari army airbase, while Iran’s space agency spokesman Hossein Dalirian said “several” drones had been “successfully shot down”.
Dalirian said on social media platform X there were “no reports of a missile attack”.
“Reports indicate there was no major damage or large explosions caused by the impact of any air threat,” the official IRNA news agency said.
A senior military officer in Isfahan, Brigadier General Siavash Mihandoost, told state television that the loud sound people heard was caused by defence systems shooting at a target in the air, not an explosion on the ground.
Nuclear facilities in Isfahan were reported to be “completely secure”, Tasnim said. Separately, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) confirmed there was no damage to Iran’s nuclear sites.
The agency continues to monitor the situation very closely and calls for extreme restraint from all sides, stressing that nuclear facilities should never be a target in military conflicts, it said.
Washington pre-notified of strike: reports
Washington received advance notice of Israel’s reported strike, but did not endorse the operation or play any part in its execution, US media quoted officials as saying.
US President Joe Biden had promised “ironclad” support for Israel but also urged it to “think carefully and strategically” before launching a response against Iran that could trigger a wider war.
NBC and CNN, citing sources familiar with the matter and a US official, respectively, said Israel had pre-notified Washington of the strike.
CNN quoted one official as stating the target was not a nuclear facility.
There was no immediate comment from the White House or Pentagon. The Israeli military told AFP: “We don’t have a comment at this time.”
The explosions in Iran coincided with the 85th birthday of Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Calls for de-escalation
Following today’s development, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called for restraint to avoid further escalation in the Middle East.
“We have to do everything possible (so) that all sides restrain from the escalation in that region,” von der Leyen told reporters during a visit to Finland, adding: “It is absolutely necessary that the region stays stable and that all sides refrain from further action.”
Egypt said it was deeply concerned about an escalation of hostilities between Israel and Iran.
The Egyptian foreign ministry warned of the consequences of expanding the conflict and instability in the region.
China said it will “continue to play a constructive role to de-escalate” tensions in the Middle East. The country is a close partner of Iran, its largest trade partner, and a top buyer of its sanctioned oil.
“China opposes any actions that further escalate tensions and will continue to play a constructive role to de-escalate the situation,” foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said.
Oman, which has long mediated between Tehran and the West, condemned an “Israeli attack” on Iran.
Oman “condemns the Israeli attack this morning on Isfahan […] it also condemns and denounces Israel’s repeated military attacks in the region”, said a foreign ministry statement released on X.
Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani called for an “absolute de-escalation”, saying G7 counterparts would discuss it at talks in Capri.
“We invite everyone to be cautious to avoid an escalation,” he told RAI news from the Italian island, where Rome is hosting a meeting between foreign ministers of the Group of Seven nations.
The G7, which includes the UK, US, France, Germany, Japan and Canada, wants an “absolute de-escalation” in the Middle East, he said.
Canada also weighed in on the ongoing situation, saying the G7 will address it in its session.
“We are monitoring the situation closely. We will address the situation with the foreign ministers at the G7 session this morning in Italy,” Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly said on X.
French deputy foreign minister Jean-Noel Barrot said: “All I can say is that France’s position is to call on all actors for de-escalation and restraint.”
Japan said it “strongly condemned any actions that lead to the escalation of the situation”.
Chief cabinet secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said Japan was “deeply concerned” about the current situation and would “continue to make all necessary diplomatic efforts to prevent the situation from worsening further”.
The Kremlin said it was looking into reports that Israel carried out a strike on Iran and urged all sides to exercise “restraint” to prevent further escalation.
“We continue to favour restraint on the sides and to refrain from any action that could provoke further escalation in such a sensitive region,” spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
Germany also pleaded for restraint. “De-escalation must be the advice of the hour,” said government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit, adding: “We must prevent a conflagration at all costs, and this appeal goes to all sides”.
Meanwhile, Ben Saul, the United Nation’s special rapporteur on counterterrorism and human rights, said: “Israel’s latest strikes on Iran are another violation of the prohibition on the use of military force under international law and the UN Charter, and threaten the human right to life.”
From the Israeli side, hard-right security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said “Feeble!” in a post on his X account, without expanding upon it further.
Israel targets army position in Syria: ministry
Israeli strikes on Friday also targeted a Syrian army position in the country’s south, Syria’s government and a monitor said.
In a statement, Syria’s defence ministry said “the Israeli enemy carried out an attack using missiles […] targeting our air defence sites in the southern region” and causing material damage.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor said Israel targeted an army radar position in the southern province of Daraa that had detected the entry of Israeli planes into Syria’s airspace.
Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the Britain-based Observatory, said the strikes took place “at a time when the Israeli air force was flying intensively over the Daraa region” without Syrian air defences taking any action.
Rayan Maarouf, who runs the Suwayda24 anti-government new website, had earlier told AFP there had been strikes on a Syrian army radar position in Sweida province, without specifying their origin.
US embassy in Israel tells employees to limit movement
The United States embassy in Israel told its employees and their families to restrict their movements.
“Out of an abundance of caution following reports that Israel conducted a retaliatory strike inside Iran, US government employees and their family members are restricted from personal travel outside the greater Tel Aviv” area as well as the Jerusalem and Beersheva areas “until further notice,” a security advisory issued by the mission on its website said.
Due to a “complex” security environment that “can change quickly,” the embassy “may further restrict or prohibit” the concerned people from travelling to parts of Israel, Jerusalem’s Old City, and the occupied West Bank, the advisory read.
Airlines reroute flights after Israeli attack on Iran
Airlines changed flight paths over Iran, cancelled some flights, diverted others to alternate airports or returned planes to their departure points in response to airspace and airport closures after the attack on Iran, flight tracking data showed.
Iran closed its airports in Tehran, Shiraz and Isfahan and cleared flights from the western portion of its airspace for a few hours after the attack, according to flight tracking website FlightRadar24.
By 4:45am GMT, the airports and airspace had reopened, and closure notices posted on a US Federal Aviation Administration database had been removed.
Before the airports reopened, Flydubai said it had cancelled its Friday flights to Iran. One of its earlier flights turned back to Dubai, it said.
An Iran Air flight from Rome to Tehran was diverted to Ankara, Turkiye, Flightradar 24 showed.
Germany’s Lufthansa cancelled all flights to Tel Aviv and Erbil until Saturday and said it would fly around Iraqi airspace during the same period. “The safety of passengers and crews is always the top priority,” it said.
Emirates, Flydubai, Turkish Air, Wizz Air Abu Dhabi and Belavia were among the carriers continuing to fly over the part of Iran’s airspace that remained open in the initial hours after the attack early on Friday, the tracking website showed.
“We are monitoring the situation closely and will make changes to our flight paths in consultation with the relevant authorities,” Flydubai said in a statement.
The airspace and airport closures in Iran compounded a difficult week for Dubai-based carriers after record rainfall in the United Arab Emirates.
Since Tuesday, 1,478 flights have been cancelled to and from Dubai, approximately 30 per cent of all flights, according to FlightRadar24. Many Western and Asian airlines had already been steering clear of Iran and its airspace before the Israeli attack, which came days after Iran’s missile and drone attack on Israel.
Germany’s Lufthansa on Wednesday had extended a suspension of flights to Tehran until the end of the month, citing ongoing security concerns in the region.
Australia’s Qantas Airways said on Saturday it was rerouting flights between Perth and London on concerns about the Middle East, adding a fuel stop in Singapore as it avoided Iran’s airspace.
Taiwan’s China Airlines said in a statement that it “continues to pay attention to the situation as it develops and plans the most appropriate routes in accordance with the recommendations of the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the European Union Aviation Safety Agency”.
Taiwan’s EVA Air told Reuters that its flights had already been avoiding Iranian air space.
Etihad Airways, which does not fly to Iran, said it “continuously monitors security and airspace updates, safety is always our highest priority and we would never operate a flight unless it was safe to do so”.
Mideast ‘on a precipice’
Over the weekend, Iran carried out its first attack to directly target regional foe Israel which, backed by its allies, intercepted most of the 300 missiles and drones launched by Tehran, and suffered no deaths.
Iran had launched its attack in retaliation for an April 1 strike on its consulate in the Syrian capital Damascus. In that attack, seven of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards including two generals were killed.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has vowed to destroy Hamas over its October 7 attack that started Israel’s offensive in Gaza, has stressed that Israel “reserves the right to protect itself” against Iran.
The United States, Israel’s main ally and military supplier, has made clear it would not join a reprisal attack on Iran, but unveiled sanctions against people and entities involved in producing the drones deployed in the Iranian assault.
“We are holding Iran accountable,” US President Joe Biden said on Thursday, announcing the measures after the European Union said it would also sanction Iran’s drone programme.
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian had warned that Tehran would make Israel “regret” any attack on the Islamic republic.
On Thursday, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres painted a dark picture of the situation in the Middle East, warning that spiralling tensions over the conflicy in Gaza and Iran’s attack on Israel could devolve into a “full-scale regional conflict.”
“The Middle East is on a precipice. Recent days have seen a perilous escalation — in words and deeds,” Guterres told the Security Council.
“One miscalculation, one miscommunication, one mistake, could lead to the unthinkable — a full-scale regional conflict that would be devastating for all involved,” he said, calling on all parties to exercise “maximum restraint”.
Oil prices surged more than three per cent in early Asian trade on Friday following the reports of explosions.