WASHINGTON: Iran said on Friday (Apr 19) that it had shot down several drones and that there had been “no missile attack for now” on the country, after explosions were heard near the central city of Isfahan.
Several drones “have been successfully shot down by the country’s air defence, there are no reports of a missile attack for now”, Iran’s space agency spokesman Hossein Dalirian said on X.
The Fars news agency said “three explosions” were heard near the Shekari army airbase near Isfahan.
Earlier, American news outlet ABC News reported that Israeli missiles had hit a site in Iran, citing a US official.
The incident comes days after Iran attacked Israel.
Reuters could not immediately confirm the reports.
Iran’s Fars news agency said an explosion was heard at an airport in Isfahan but the cause was not immediately known. Iran suspended flights over the cities of Isfahan, Shiraz and Tehran, state media reported.
Several Iranian nuclear sites are located in Isfahan province, including Natanz, the centrepiece of Iran’s uranium enrichment programme.
Tehran’s Imam Khomeini International Airport was closed to all flights until 7am GMT, according to a notice to airmen posted on a United States Federal Aviation Administration database.
Some Emirates and flydubai flights that were flying over Iran early on Friday made sudden sharp turns away from the airspace, according to flight paths shown by flight tracking service Flightradar24.
Israel had said it would retaliate against Iran’s weekend attack, which involved hundreds of drones and missiles in retaliation for a suspected Israeli strike on its embassy compound in Syria.
Most of the drones and missiles were downed before they reached Israeli territory.
Analysts and observers have been raising concerns about the risks of the Israel-Gaza war spreading into the rest of the region.
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.”
Oil prices jumped on the reports of the Israeli strike. Brent crude futures rose 2 per cent to US$88.86 a barrel, the dollar gained broadly, gold rose 1 per cent and S&P 500 futures dropped 1 per cent.
Israel’s assault on Gaza began after Palestinian militant group Hamas attacked Israel on Oct 7, 2023, killing 1,200, according to Israeli tallies.
Israel’s military offensive has killed more than 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.
