US officials confirm Israel carried out operation against Iran
Julian Borger
US officials have confirmed that Israel has carried out military operations against Iran but did not describe those operations.
They said Israel warned the Biden administration earlier on Thursday that the strike was coming in the next 24 to 48 hours.
According to CNN, the Israelis assured their US counterparts that Iran’s nuclear facilities would not be targeted.
Iranian state media has confirmed only that air defence opened fire on drones in Isfahan province, bringing them down.
There were also Iranian reports of air defences working around Tabriz.
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“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,” the Iranian official said on condition of anonymity.
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According to Reuters, an Iranian analyst also told state TV on Friday that mini drones shot down by air defences in Isfahan were flown by “infiltrators from inside Iran”.
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Meanwhile, the Israeli hard right minister Ben Gvir has posted a one-word post on X on Friday: “Feeble!”
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It’s 9:40am in Tehran and 9:10am in Tel Aviv. We’re about to hand over to London but first, a summary of what we know so far:
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US officials have confirmed that Israel has carried out airstrikes against Iran as explosions were reported in the sky over the cities of Isfahan and Tabriz.
Air defence systems over several Iranian cities were activated, state media reported, after the country’s official broadcaster said explosions were heard near the city of Isfahan, home to sites associated with Iran’s nuclear program, including its underground Natanz enrichment site.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) says there is no damage to Iran’s nuclear sites. In a post on X, the agency said it continues to monitor the situation very closely and calls for extreme restraint from all sides, stressing that “nuclear facilities should never be a target in military conflicts”.
Iran’s Fars news agency reported “three explosions” were heard near the Shekari army airbase in the north-west of Isfahan province, while Iran’s space agency spokesperson Hossein Dalirian said “several” drones had been “successfully shot down”.
Commercial flights including Dubai-based carriers Emirates and FlyDubai began diverting their routes early on Friday morning over western Iran without explanation. Local warnings to aviators suggested the airspace may have been closed.
Mehr news agency reported that “flights to…
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This article was originally published by a www.theguardian.com . Read the Original article here. .