OAN’s James Meyers
8:29 AM – Friday, April 19, 2024
Israel carried out strikes against Iran early Friday morning in retaliation against Tehran after they fired a bombardment of missiles and drones at Israel last Saturday.
According to Fox News, the strike by the Jewish State was “limited.” Multiple sources also stated that the U.S. was not involved and there was pre-notification to the U.S. from Israel.
Explosions were taking place in Iran’s Isfahan province, which is where Natanz, one of Iran’s nuclear facilities, is located.
Maj. Gen. Abdolrahim Mousavi, the commander-in-chief of Iran’s army, said that the explosions in Isfahan were a part of anti-aircraft systems shooting at what he claimed was a “suspicious object,” which did not cause any damage, Iranian news outlet IRNA reported.
Additionally, details surrounding the intended target of the strike were not immediate, but according to Fox News the target was “not nuclear or civilian.”
Iran’s Fars news agency reported on the sound of explosions over Isfahan near its international airport. Meanwhile, Isfahan is home to a major airbase for the Iranian military, as well as sites associated with its nuclear program.
It has also been reported that a senior Iranian official allegedly told Reuters that Tehran has no immediate plans to respond to the Jewish States strike, which was actually described differently on Iranian state media. The explosions that were heard in Isfahan were allegedly a result of the country’s air defense system activating and was not a missile attack, the official told Reuters.
The strike from Israel came hours after Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian claimed that if Israel carries out any further military action against Iran, its response would be “immediate and at a maximum level.”
“If the Israeli regime commits the grave error once again our response will be decisive, definitive and regretful for them,” he added, noting that this warning had been communicated to the White House via the Swiss Embassy in Tehran.
Meanwhile, Iran temporarily stopped all commercial flights in Tehran and across areas of its western and central regions in response to the attack. However, restrictions have since been lifted on flights to and from Khomeini and Mehrabad international airports in Tehran, according to Iranian news agency Tasnim.
“The safety of our passengers and crew is our priority. We are monitoring the situation closely and will make changes to our flight paths in consultation with the relevant authorities,” a FlyDubai spokesperson said. “We will share any further updates once more information becomes available.”
Before the strikes last weekend by Iran against Israel, Iran had never directly attacked Israel, instead they had relied on proxy forces in Iraq, Lebanon and elsewhere.
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