In the early hours of Friday morning, Iran activated air defense systems amidst reports of explosions near a major air base close to Isfahan, sparking concerns of a potential Israeli strike in retaliation for Tehran’s recent drone-and-missile attack.
While it remained unclear whether the country was under direct attack, no Iranian official explicitly acknowledged the possibility.
Furthermore, Israel’s military did not respond to requests for comment.
However, tensions have escalated since the Saturday assault on Israel, amid ongoing conflict with Hamas in the Gaza Strip and Israeli strikes targeting Iran in Syria.
Iranian government officials and Iran’s state-run television broadcaster suggested that sites may have been targeted by drones. According to IRNA, the country’s air defenses fired across several provinces, but the reason for the deployment was not specified.
Residents in the area reported hearing the sounds of the blasts. Specifically, IRNA mentioned that air defenses were activated at a major air base in Isfahan, historically housing Iran’s fleet of American-made F-14 Tomcats, purchased before the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
Both the semiofficial Fars and Tasnim news agencies also reported the sounds of explosions but did not provide a cause. State television acknowledged the “loud noise” in the area.
Isfahan is also home to sites associated with Iran’s nuclear program, including its underground Natanz enrichment site, which has been repeatedly targeted by suspected Israeli sabotage attacks. However, state television described all sites in the area as “fully safe”.
Dubai-based carriers Emirates and FlyDubai began diverting flights around western Iran at approximately 4:30 a.m. local time.
Although they did not provide an explanation, local warnings to aviators suggested that the airspace may have been closed.
Iran later announced the grounding of commercial flights in Tehran and across areas of its western and central regions.
Videos purportedly showed loudspeakers informing customers of the incident at Imam Khomeini International Airport in Tehran.
Iranian state television issued an on-screen alert acknowledging a “loud noise” near Isfahan, but did not provide immediate details.
According to Hossein Dalirian, a spokesperson for Iran’s civilian space program, several small “quadcopter” drones were shot down.
A state television reporter in Isfahan confirmed this in a live report, stating that “several small drones were flying in the sky over Isfahan and were subsequently fired at”.
In Iraq, where numerous Iranian-backed militias are based, residents of Baghdad reported hearing explosions. However, the source of the noise remained unclear.
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