Iran fires air defence batteries as explosions heard near Isfahan, site ...
This comes as tensions remain high in the wider Middle East after Iran's unprecedented missile-and-drone attack on Israel
Author of the article:
The Associated Press
Jon Gambrell
Published Apr 18, 2024 • Last updated 3 hours ago • 2 minute read
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Iran fired air defence batteries early Friday morning as explosions could be heard near a major air base near Isfahan, raising fears of a possible Israeli strike following Tehran’s unprecedented drone-and-missile assault on the country.
It remained unclear if the country was under attack. One government official suggested sites may have been targeted by drones.
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Israeli officials had notified the U.S. earlier Thursday that they planned to retaliate in the next 24-48 hours, according to two U.S. officials who asked not to be identified. Spokespeople for the National Security Council and the Pentagon declined to comment.
The reports come after Israel vowed to retaliate against Iran for its barrage of some 300 drones and missiles. Iran said it was responding to a strike on its diplomatic building in Syria that killed several Iranian officers on April 1.
Iran has been bracing for retaliation by Israel ever since. World leaders from the Mideast to the U.S. have urged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to show restraint in the face of the Iranian attacks, but the Israeli leader and other top officials have said the country would have little choice but to respond.
Tehran has routinely accused Israel of attacks and sabotage activities targeting its nuclear and military sites in the past, including in Isfahan, home to some of its key nuclear enrichment and missile facilities.
One Iranian government official suggested sites may have been targeted by drones.
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IRNA said the defences fired across several provinces. It did not elaborate on what caused the batteries to fire, though people across the area reported hearing the sounds.
In particular, IRNA said air defences fired at a major air base in Isfahan, which long has been home to Iran’s fleet of American-made F-14 Tomcats — purchased before the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
The semiofficial Fars and Tasnim news agencies also reported the sound of blasts, without giving a cause. State television acknowledged “loud noise” in the area.
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Isfahan also is home to sites associated with Iran’s nuclear program, including its underground Natanz enrichment site, which has been repeatedly targeted by suspected Israeli sabotage attacks. However, state television described all sites in the area as “fully safe.”
Dubai-based carriers Emirates and FlyDubai began diverting around western Iran about 4:30 a.m. local time. They offered no explanation, though local warnings to aviators suggested the airspace may have been closed.
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Iran later announced it grounded commercial flights in Tehran and across areas of its western and central regions. Loudspeakers informed customers of the incident at Imam Khomeini International Airport in Tehran, online videos purported to show.
Iranian state television began a scrolling, on-screen alert acknowledging a “loud noise” near Isfahan, without immediately elaborating.
Hossein Dalirian, a spokesman for Iran’s civilian space program, said on the X social media platform that several small “quadcopter” drones had been shot down. It wasn’t immediately clear where that happened or if it was part of the ongoing incident in Iran.
Meanwhile in Iraq, where a number of Iranian-backed militias are based, residents of Baghdad reported hearing sounds of explosions, but the source of the noise was not immediately clear.
— With additional reporting from Bloomberg
https://twitter.com/FirasMaksad/status/1781139038679793966
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