Israel strikes back at Iran: Explosions rock airbase in Isfahan

Israel has conducted strikes in Iran in retaliation for Tehran’s unprecedented drone-and-missile assault earlier this week, defying U.S. 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, with Israeli projectiles reported 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. 

A base near the city hosts one of Iran’s nuclear facilities, although U.S. 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.’ Iranian state TV this morning released footage of an undisturbed Isfahan city scape to cast doubt on reports the city had been hit.

Today’s 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. Earlier this week, Biden warned Israel not to retaliate to Saturday’s foiled strikes and urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to ‘take the win’.

But the measured nature of Israel’s response appears to have been poorly received by the hard-right elements of Netanyahu’s war cabinet. Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who previously said his country should ‘go beserk’ on Iran , posted a one-word statement on X following the strikes – ‘Feeble!’. Iranian officials meanwhile told Reuters that Tehran has no plan for immediate retaliation against Israel, contradicting statements made by several senior politicians earlier this week.

‘The foreign source of the incident has not been confirmed. We have not received any external attack, and the discussion leans more towards infiltration than attack,’ one Iranian official said on condition of anonymity. No official comment has been released by Israel or the U.S., 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. 

And Iran’s foreign minister told CNN yesterday that Tehran’s response to an Israeli strike would be immediate. ‘If the Israeli regime commits the great error once again our response will be decisive, definitive and regretful for them,’ Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said. Footage circulating social media appears to show explosions overhead in Iran, though MailOnline has not been able to confirm the footage. Shortly after reports of strikes emerged, three drones were ‘successfully shot down by the country’s air defence’, according to Iran’s National Cyberspace Center spokesman Hossein Dalirain on X.

Israeli officials warned the Biden administration of its intent to strike before launching in previous days, but an official told CNN that the U.S. did not ‘green light’ any Israeli response. Hours before, U.S. Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke with his Israeli counterpart Yoav Gallant on Thursday afternoon, but a senior source declined to confirm to the New York Times whether Gallant warned about the strikes following the meeting. Israeli military sources reportedly stressed that today’s strikes were a ‘limited response’ to Iran’s attack, appearing to target military hubs used by Iran in their onslaught on Saturday.

Around four hours after reports of strikes, Iran lifted flight suspensions and opened its airports, with runways in Tehran, Isfahan and Shiraz closed amid the Israeli attack. Further explosions reportedly hit military targets in Iraq and Syria around the same time. Syria’s state-run SANA news agency quoted a military statement as saying Israel carried out a missile strike targeting an air defence unit in its south, causing material damage. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition war monitor, said the strike hit a military radar for government forces. It was not clear if there were casualties, the Observatory said. The Observatory’s chief Rami Abdurrahman said six Israeli fighter jets entered Syria’s airspace and were flying east when they were spotted by the radar.

Although the U.S. military played a central role in halting Iran’s strikes on Saturday, President Biden said he made it ‘very clear’ to Netanyahu that he had to act ‘carefully and strategically.’ Biden urged Netanyahu to ‘take the win’ of the derailed attack, and cautioned that the U.S. would not participate in any Israeli counter-offensive. The Israeli leader brushed off Biden’s warnings, insisting Israel would ‘make its own decisions’ in how to react to Iran’s attack. 

Meanwhile, the United States embassy in Israel told its employees and their families to restrict their movements this morning. ‘Out of an abundance of caution following reports that Israel conducted a retaliatory strike inside Iran, U.S. government employees and their family members are restricted from personal travel outside the greater Tel Aviv’ area as well as the Jerusalem and Beersheva areas ‘until further notice,’ a security advisory issued by the mission on its website said. Due to a ‘complex’ security environment that ‘can change quickly,’ the embassy ‘may further restrict or prohibit’ the concerned people from travelling to parts of Israel, Jerusalem’s Old City, and the occupied West Bank, the advisory read. U.S. officials said there was an expectation that if Israel defied warnings, they would not target nuclear or civilian sites.

In the UK, a Cabinet minister declined to say whether the UK would support Israel’s reported action in Iran. Mel Stride told Sky News: ‘I don’t want to get into hypotheticals, because of course, the question you’ve asked begs many other questions as to what form exactly that retaliation may or indeed may not have taken.’ He added: ‘The overarching message on the military front is that de-escalation now is really important. We are very firmly engaged in counselling de-escalation and moderation at this particular moment.’ Deputy French foreign minister Jean Noel Barrot also called on Iran and Israel to climb down from further conflict. ‘All I can say is that France’s position is to call on all actors for de-escalation and restraint, he said.

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