WASHINGTON and DUBAI –

Israel has attacked Iran, three people familiar with the matter said, as Iranian state media reported early on Friday that its forces had destroyed drones, days after Iran launched a retaliatory drone strike on Israel.

One source told Reuters the U.S. was not involved but was notified by Israel before the attack.

Iran’s Fars news agency reported three explosions were heard near an army base in the central city of Isfahan. An Iranian official told Reuters there was no missile attack and the explosions were the result of the activation of Iran’s air defence systems.

Iranian state TV said that shortly after midnight “three drones were observed in the sky over Isfahan. The air defence system became active and destroyed these drones in the sky.”

The broadcaster later said the situation in Isfahan was normal and no ground explosions had occurred.

The Israeli military had no comment on the reports.

Israel had said it would retaliate against Iran’s weekend attack, which involved hundreds of drones and missiles, in response to a suspected Israeli strike on its embassy compound in Syria. Most of the Iranian drones and missiles were downed before reaching Israeli territory.

Analysts and observers have raised concerns about the risks of the Israel-Gaza war spreading into the rest of the region.

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi had warned Israel before Friday’s strike that Tehran would deliver a “severe response” to any attack on its territory.

Iran told the United Nations Security Council on Thursday that Israel “must be compelled to stop any further military adventurism against our interests” as the UN secretary-general warned that the Middle East was in a “moment of maximum peril.”

Asian shares and bond yields sank on Friday while safe-haven currencies, gold and crude oil jumped. Brent crude futures rose two per cent to US$88.86 a barrel, the dollar gained broadly, rose one per cent and S&P 500 futures dropped one per cent.

Iran’s state television said nuclear facilities where Iran has been conducting work – which Tehran says is peaceful but which the West believes is aimed at building a weapon – were unharmed.

The Natanz nuclear site, the centrepiece of Iran’s uranium enrichment program, is in Isfahan province.

Airports in Tehran, Shiraz and Isfahan were closed until 7 a.m. GMT, subject to extension, and flights have been cleared from the western half of Iran, slight tracking website FlightRadar24 reported.

Some flights destined for Tehran from Turkish Airlines and Emirates were returning to their origin, FlightRadar24 said on X. An Iran Air flight from Rome to Tehran was diverting to Ankara, Turkey, it showed.

FlightRadar24 showed Emirates, flydubai, Turkish Air, Wizz Air Abu Dhabi and Belavia were among the carriers continuing to use the part of Iran’s airspace that remained open on Friday morning.

Israel’s assault on Gaza began after Palestinian Islamist group Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, killing 1,200, according to Israeli tallies. Israel’s military offensive has killed over 33,000 Palestinians in Gaza, according to the local health ministry.

Iran-backed groups have declared support for Palestinians, launching attacks from Lebanon, Yemen and Iraq.

Israel carried out limited strikes in Iran early Friday in retaliation for Tehran firing a barrage of missiles and drones at Israel late Saturday. 

Fox News Digital has confirmed there have been explosions in Isfahan province where Natanz is located though it is not clear whether it has been hit. Natanz is the site of one of Iran’s nuclear facilities, though state television has described all sites in the area as “fully safe.” 

A well-placed military source has told Fox that the strike was “limited.” Sources familiar said the U.S. was not involved and there was pre-notification to the U.S. from the Israelis. 

Pentagon officials have not confirmed the strike. The White House and the National Security Council (NSC) have declined to comment on the unfolding situation. 

Commercial flights, meanwhile, began diverting their routes early Friday morning over western Iran without explanation as one semiofficial news agency in the Islamic Republic claimed there had been “explosions” heard over the city of Isfahan, Reuters reported.

The semiofficial Fars news agency reported on the sound of explosions over Isfahan near its international airport. It offered no explanation for the blast. However, Isfahan is home to a major airbase for the Iranian military, as well as sites associated with its nuclear program.

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.

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.

Iran attacked Israel over the weekend in retaliation for Israel’s deadly strike on Iran’s consulate earlier this month that killed a dozen people, including a top general. 

ISRAEL’S ADVANCED MILITARY TECHNOLOGY ON FULL DISPLAY DURING IRAN’S ATTACK

An anti-missile system operates after Iran launched drones and missiles towards Israel, as seen from Ashkelon, Israel April 14, 2024. (REUTERS/Amir Cohen)

The weekend attack by Iran marked a major escalation of violence. Despite decades of hostilities between the two nations, Iran has never directly attacked Israel, instead relying on proxy forces in Iraq, Lebanon and elsewhere. 

This is a developing story. Check back for updates. 

ABC News earlier reported Israel had launched a missile attack on a target in Iran, citing a senior US official.

Iranian state media said the country’s air defences brought down three drones over the central city of Isfahan, hours after US broadcasters, citing senior US officials, reported Israeli missiles had hit an Iranian site.

Iranian state television reported explosions in Isfahan, as air defences were activated and flights across several areas including Tehran and Isfahan were suspended.

Airspace was reopened about four and a half hours after the incident and there were no reports of casualties.

The state broadcaster reported that at “around 1230 AM GMT” three drones were seen in the sky over Isfahan, air defence was activated and they “destroyed these drones in the sky.”

ABC News reported earlier, citing a senior US official, that Israel had launched missiles at a site in Iran. CBS News also reported that an Israeli attack had taken place.

Israel promised to respond after Iran last Saturday launched a barrage of drones and missiles on the country, after a suspected Israeli strike on Iran’s consulate compound in Damascus killed two senior generals.

Iran’s space agency spokesman Hossein Dalirian said “several” drones had been “successfully shot down”.

“There are no reports of a missile attack for now,” Dalirian said on social media platform X.

Isfahan is considered a strategically important city and one that is host to several important sites, including military research and development facilities, as well as bases. The nearby city of Natanz is the location of one of Iran’s nuclear enrichment sites.

Nuclear facilities in Isfahan were reported to be “completely secure”, Iran’s Tasnim news agency reported, citing “reliable sources”.

There were also reports of explosions in Iraq and Syria.

“There were strikes on a Syrian army radar position,” Rayan Maarouf, who runs the Suwayda24 anti-government website that covers news from Sweida province in the south, told the AFP news agency.

The United States and a number of European countries had been calling on Israel not to respond to Iran’s attack last week. There was no immediate comment from the White House or Pentagon.

On Thursday, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres painted a dark picture of the situation in the Middle East, warning that spiralling tensions over the war in Gaza and Iran’s attack on Israel could descend 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.”