- Strikes hit the city of Isfahan in Iran at 5am local time. Officials say they do not believe the city’s nuclear facilities were struck during the ordeal
- President Biden warned Israel not to plunge the Middle East further into crisis
Israel has conducted strikes in Iran in retaliation for Tehran’s unprecedented drone-and-missile assault earlier this week, defying US President Joe Biden’s warning that more attacks could plunge the Middle East further into conflict.
The city of Isfahan in central Iran was struck at 5am local time. A base near the city hosts one of Iran’s nuclear facilities, although US military sources reportedly said the target was not believed to be nuclear.
Iran sought to downplay any significant damage to its military facilities and outright denied any nuclear plants were destroyed, claiming that ‘so far, no large-scale strikes or explosions by any air threat have been reported.’
Reports citing senior US military sources contradicted Iran’s claims and said that targets were hit.
The extent of the damage is not clear, with strikes believed to have targeted an Air Force base near Isfahan which long has been home to Iran’s fleet of American-made F-14 Tomcats – purchased before the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
The early morning strike comes after Iran launched a barrage of hundreds of drones and rockets at Israel on Saturday, which was largely thwarted by Israel and its international allies.
Isfahan was one of several launch sites used in the attack.
No official comment has been released by Israel or the US, but the explosions in Iran will heighten fears of a stronger tit-for-tat retaliation.
Iranian National Security Committee official Abolfazl Amoue declared earlier this week that Tehran is ‘prepared to use a weapon that we have never used’ if Israel responds further.
Biden had warned Israel not to retaliate to Saturday’s strikes and urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to ‘take the win’ of the foiled Iranian attack.
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