Israel has carried out a strike inside Iran, US officials say, a move that threatens to escalate regional conflict further. Iranian state media are citing unconfirmed reports of explosions in the central province of Isfahan.
Iranian news reports say that sites at Isfahan associated with Iran’s nuclear program were “completely secure” and the attack appeared to be limited in scope. An Iranian official said air defenses intercepted three drones.
The Israeli military has yet to confirm the attack.
Footage, which Sky News cannot independently verify, surfaced on Telegram appearing to show blasts of light over Isfahan in Iran.
State media says Iran fired its air defence systems after reports of blasts near the city of Isfahan.
Middle East latest: https://t.co/umeFUcCun0 pic.twitter.com/Sz7NNXeJvr
— Sky News (@SkyNews) April 19, 2024
A loud blast heard near the Iranian city of Isfahan was caused by “air defense firing at a suspicious object,” an Iranian senior military commander said, according to Iran’s state-aligned Tasnim news agency.
There was no “damage or incident,” said senior military commander Second Brigadier General Mihandoust in Isfahan Province, according to Tasnim.
According to the World Nuclear Association, the Isfahan Nuclear Technology Centre includes a uranium conversion facility (UCF), which produces uranium hexafluoride.
Iran feeds uranium hexafluoride gas into centrifuges to produce enriched uranium, which can be used to make reactor fuel but also nuclear weapons.
Next to the UCF is an enriched uranium oxide powder plant (EUPP), which converts uranium hexafluoride into uranium oxide, and a fuel fabrication plant that produces fuel for the Tehran Research Reactor.
Israel told by the US not to respond to Iran
Israel had for days weighed its response to Iran’s unprecedented weekend strikes, most of which were intercepted. Iran launched the attack in retaliation for a suspected Israeli strike on its embassy compound in Syria earlier this month.
The UN, EU, and USA have condemned Iran’s attack on Israel, as have several countries individually from Latin America to China as well as Greece.
Israel had told the US on Thursday it would retaliate against Iran in the coming days, but Washington “didn’t green light” it, a senior US official said.
Washington and other global powers had pressed Israel not to respond, or to ensure any further retaliation, was limited to prevent a broader conflagration after the latest surge in violence was sparked by the air strike on the Iranian embassy compound in Damascus on April 1 that was blamed on Israel.
The attack came hours after Iran’s foreign minister told CNN that if Israel takes any further military action against Iran, its response would be “immediate and at a maximum level.”
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 U.N. secretary-general warned that the Middle East was in a “moment of maximum peril.”
Related: Israel Versus Iran: Geopolitical Implications for Greece
See all the latest news from Greece and the world at Greekreporter.com. Contact our newsroom to report an update or send your story, photos and videos. Follow GR on Google News and subscribe here to our daily email!
