April 19, 2024 - Iran targeted in aerial attack

Israeli minister Itamar Ben-Gvir speaks to the press at the scene of a shooting attack in the southern town of Kiryat Malakhi, Israel, on February 16.

Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid has criticized far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir for an “unforgivable tweet” that has been interpreted as ridiculing the military strike in Iran.

Ben Gvir published a one-word post on X, consisting only of a slang word meaning “lame” or “weak,” just hours after explosions were heard in Iran on Friday.

Israel had carried out a military strike on Iran, a US official told CNN. Israel has not commented and Iran has not identified the source of the attack.

Neither politician explicitly said that their comments referred to the attack on Iran.

Ben Gvir had previously said Israel should “go crazy” in its response to last weekend’s Iranian drone and missile attack on Israel.

Former prime minister Lapid said that Ben Gvir had “managed to mock and shame Israel from Tehran to Washington.”

Ben Gvir’s fellow hardline right-wing minister Bezalel Smotrich on Wednesday had said that Israel’s response to Iran’s attack should inflict a “disproportionate toll” and “rock Tehran” to deter Iran from future strikes.

The finance minister said Israel “should rock Tehran, so everyone there will realize they shouldn’t mess with us.”

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak delivers a speech on welfare reform at the Centre for Social Justice on April 19, in London, England.

The UK’s Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said he wants to see “calm heads prevail” in the Middle East. 

“Significant escalation is not in anyone’s interest,” Sunak said at a press conference in London on Friday.

Israel carried out a military strike on Iran on Friday, a US official told CNN. Israel has not commented and Iran has not identified the source of the strike.

The British prime minister said that the UK is working with its allies to confirm the details of the attack.

Sunak repeated his condemnation of Iran’s “barrage of missiles against Israel on Saturday” and reiterated Israel’s right to self-defense. 

A still taken from video shows flashes in the sky near Isfahan, Iran, on April 19. CNN cannot verify the authenticity of video.

Iran’s army commander-in-chief said the explosions in the sky above the province of Isfahan were related to anti-aircraft systems shooting at what he called a suspicious object that did not cause any damage, Iran’s official news agency IRNA reported.

The commander-in-chief’s comments align with an earlier report from Iran’s Tasnim news agency, which quoted senior military commander Second Brigadier General Mihandoust in Isfahan saying there was no “damage or incident” following the explosion in that area.

The senior commander also said the blast heard were caused by “air defense firing at a suspicious object.”

China spoke out against any escalation of tensions in the Middle East after Iran was targeted in an aerial attack.

Some context: Israel carried out Friday’s attack, a US official told CNN. Israel has not commented, and Iran has not identified the source of the attack. 

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen attends a press conference at the Lappeenranta airport, eastern Finland, on April 19.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani have called for restraint after an attack on Iran.

Israel carried out Friday’s attack, a US official told CNN. The Israeli military has not commented, and Iran has not identified the source of the attack. 

A “diplomatic effort” from EU and G7 members is already underway to quell tensions in the region after the strike, Tajani told reporters on the sidelines of a G7 foreign ministers summit in Italy.

EU chief von der Leyen also called for de-escalation, saying it is “absolutely necessary” for the Middle East to stay “stable,” urging all sides to “refrain from further action.”

An aerial attack on Iran on Friday came fresh on the heels of earlier tit-for-tat Iranian and Israeli strikes, a potentially dangerous escalation of the Middle East conflict as a decades-long shadow war between the two countries emerges into the open.

What the US says: Israel carried out the strike, a US official told CNN. The US was given advance notification Thursday of an Israeli strike in the coming days, but “didn’t green light” an Israeli response, another senior US official told CNN.

What Israel says: Israel has not claimed responsibility or commented.

What Iran says: Iranian officials and state-aligned media have so far sought to play down the incident.

Iranian air defenses intercepted three drones, a Tehran official said, after reports of explosions near an army base in the central province of Isfahan. There were no reports of a missile attack, he said.

A loud blast near Isfahan city was caused by “air defense firing at a suspicious object,” a senior Iranian military commander said, adding there was no “damage or incident,” according to the state-aligned Tasnim news agency.

All facilities around Isfahan were secure, including significant nuclear sites, Iranian media reported. The UN nuclear watchdog confirmed no Iranian nuclear sites were damaged.

Why is this happening now? The attack follows an unprecedented Iranian assault on Israel last weekend that Tehran said was retaliation for a deadly suspected Israeli airstrike on Iran’s consulate in Syria on April 1. The reprisals marked the first time the Islamic Republic had launched a direct assault on Israel from its soil.

In the wake of Iran’s retaliatory attack, countries including the US called for restraint from Israel to prevent escalation, as Israel’s war against the Palestinian militant group Hamas in Gaza has already stoked regional tensions.

What’s next? Hours before the first reports of explosions in Iran emerged Friday, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian had warned that Tehran’s response to any further Israeli military action against it would be “immediate and at a maximum level.”

The details of a potential “maximum response” have been planned by Iran’s armed forces, he added.

Iranian media, however, appeared to downplay the severity of Friday’s attack, publishing footage and images of calm scenes in Isfahan and the northwestern city of Tabriz.

A regional intelligence source with knowledge of Iran’s potential reaction said Tehran was not expected to respond to the strikes — but did not give a reason.

Here are more details on what we know.

An anti-missile system operates after Iran launched drones and missiles towards Israel, as seen from Ashkelon, Israel, on April 14.

A regional intelligence source with knowledge of Iran’s potential reaction to Friday’s strike, which was carried out by Israel according to a US official, said that direct state-to-state strikes between the two enemies were “over.”

The source, who was not authorized to speak publicly, spoke to CNN on the condition of anonymity about two and a half hours after CNN first reported the attacks.

The source said that, to his knowledge, Iran was not expected to respond to the strikes — but did not give a reason.

Iranian government officials have so far sought to play down the impact of Friday’s attack.

The Israeli military has not commented, and Iran has not identified the source of the attack. 

Israeli army's vehicles withdraw from the central Gaza on April 17.

Israel would need significant support from Western allies to enter into a full-blown war in the Middle East, according to Maha Yahya, director of the Carnegie Middle East Center research foundation.  

Appeals made by Israel’s Western allies for it to exercise restraint in the wake of Iran’s attack last weekend likely played a large role in Israeli officials’ calculations on how strongly to retaliate, she added.

“It was clear that there was tremendous (international) pressure on Israel not to escalate things further.”

For context: The US, the UK and France all helped Israel counter Iranian missiles and drones during last weekend’s attack. Israel’s military said “99%” of projectiles fired by Iran were intercepted by Israel and its partners, with only “a small number” of ballistic missiles reaching Israel.

Iran’s media on Friday published footage and images of calm scenes in the areas where air defenses were activated and explosions were reported.

Israel had carried out a strike on Iran hours earlier, a US official told CNN. The Israeli military has not commented and Iran has not identified the source of the attack.

Air defenses intercepted three drones, an Iranian official said. And air defenses caused blasts near an army base in Isfahan province, according to Iranian media.

Iranian media showed residents walking near Isfahan landmarks such as the Naqsh-e Jahan square and along the Zayandeh Rud river, while normal traffic was reported in the city, according to semi-official news outlet ISNA.

Isfahan airport was operating as normal after airports were earlier closed around the country, according to semi-official Tasnim news.

In the northwest city of Tabriz — where air defenses were also activated —video showed normal traffic and pedestrians in parks and on the streets.

“Material losses” have been reported in southern Syria after an Israeli strike, Syrian state media SANA reported Friday, citing a military source.

Israel targeted Syria’s “air defense sites in the southern region. The aggression led to material losses,” SANA reported.

The Israeli military told CNN that it does not comment on reports in foreign media. 

Iranian officials appear to view Friday’s attack — which was limited in scope — as Israel trying to “save face” after it was targeted by Iran in strikes over the weekend, according to Abas Aslani, an Iranian journalist and researcher.

“It’s a bit early to judge whether it’s over or not, but at the moment… it doesn’t seem to be a regional war emerging,” Aslani told CNN, noting there is still a chance the situation could escalate.

Since a suspected Israeli attack on the Iranian consulate in Syria earlier this month, people in Iran have mostly stood behind their government’s airstrikes against Israel on Saturday, he said. It is “a matter of national pride” for many Iranians.

There has been no damage to Iran’s nuclear sites after an aerial attack in Isfahan province on Friday, the United Nations nuclear watchdog said, as it called for restraint in the region.

The International Atomic Energy Agency said its chief, Rafael Grossi, “continues to call for extreme restraint from everybody and reiterates that nuclear facilities should never be a target in military conflicts.”

Earlier, an Iranian official said air defenses intercepted three drones. Multiple Iranian state-aligned news agencies reported that sites associated with the country’s nuclear program were “completely secure” and the attack appeared to be limited in scope.

Some context: A US official told CNN that Israel carried out a strike inside Iran. The target was not nuclear, the official added. Prior to Friday’s strike, the US expectation was that Israel would not target civilian or nuclear facilities, a second US official said.

IRGC released a photo that it said showed flashes in the sky of Isfahan, Iran following reports of explosions.

Israel has carried out a strike inside Iran, a US official told CNN on Friday, in a move that threatens to further escalate conflict in the Middle East.

Iran’s air defense systems were activated in several locations after explosions were heard close to the airport and an army base in the province of Isfahan, state media reported early Friday morning.

Israel has not claimed responsibility for the attack.

Here’s what we know:

The attack on Iran early Friday was likely intended as both a retaliatory measure and a cautionary message, a retired US Army Major General told CNN’s Michael Holmes.

For days, Israel has been weighing its response to unprecedented weekend strikes from Iran, which were launched in retaliation for a suspected Israeli strike on its embassy compound in Syria earlier this month.

A US official told CNN that Friday’s attack was an Israeli strike. Israel has declined to comment on it.

“Israel must maintain its vigilance” in case Iran decides to respond with another show of force, retired Major General Mark MacCarley said.

By targeting the Iranian province of Isfahan — the site of significant nuclear facilities —Israel was likely warning that it could easily overwhelm Iran’s defenses, MacCarley said.

“I think that there was a very deliberate thought process on the part of the Israeli war cabinet,” he said.

A loud blast heard near the Iranian city of Isfahan was caused by “air defense firing at a suspicious object,” an Iranian senior military commander said, according to Iran’s state-aligned Tasnim news agency.

There was no “damage or incident,” said senior military commander Second Brigadier General Mihandoust in Isfahan province, according to Tasnim.

A US official told CNN that Israel had carried out a strike inside Iran. The Israeli military has not commented.

Iranian state media are reporting that all facilities in the area are secure, including significant nuclear facilities.

Three explosions were heard early Friday near the military base where fighter jets are located in Isfahan province, Iran’s semi-official FARS news agency reported.

Iran’s National Cyberspace Center spokesman, Hossein Dalirian, said air defenses shot down three drones and “there are no reports of a missile attack for now.”

Iran has lifted flight suspensions put in place after reports of explosions near a military base in Isfahan province, according to the spokesperson of the Civil Aviation Organization.

Flights have resumed at Mehrabad Airport and Imam Khomeini International Airport, the two major airports in Iran’s capital, Tehran, after being suspended earlier today.

Iran had earlier temporarily suspended all flights heading to the cities of “Tehran, Isfahan and Shiraz, the airports of the West, North West and South West,” state-run Mehr TV reported.

Outgoing flights were also briefly canceled.

Following a strike in Iran’s Isfahan province, Iranian state media are reporting that all facilities in the area are secure, including significant nuclear facilities, CNN International Diplomatic Editor Nic Robertson reports.

Though a US official told CNN Israel has carried out a strike inside Iran, Israel has not claimed responsibility for the attack.

State media is also reporting that they have not had any enemy aircraft come into Iranian airspace, he added.

The strike against Iran early Friday is just the latest in an intensifying and uncertain series of attacks in the Middle East.

Should a tit-for-tat between Israel and Iran develop, the conflict between the nations threatens to get “very grim very quickly,” an international relations expert told CNN.

Iran could choose to target Israel through proxies in Lebanon and Iraq, as well as with the help of Hamas in Gaza and the Houthi militant group in Yemen, Ghosh said.

Friday’s strikes have pitched the conflict into “unknown territory,” he said.

CNN Global Affairs Analyst Kim Dozier said this “escalation ladder” between the countries could lead to “something really dire — an all-out back and forth between the two.”

Israeli Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant (L) and US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin.

US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin spoke with Israeli Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant earlier Thursday about “regional threats and Iran’s destabilizing actions in the Middle East,” according to a Pentagon readout.

The call happened before Israel carried out a strike inside Iran. The Pentagon readout does not mention any discussion of Israel’s plans to attack.

Austin also discussed “the importance of increasing and sustaining the flow of humanitarian aid to Gazan civilians, including via the new route from Ashdod Port in Israel,” the readout said.

CNN reported Thursday night that Israel had told the US that it would be retaliating against Iran in the coming days, according to a senior US official.

Iranian air defenses shot down three drones Friday, according to a Tehran official, as state media said no large-scale strikes or explosions had been reported following blasts near the central city of Isfahan.

It comes after a US official told CNN Friday that Israel had carried out a strike inside Iran, in a move that threatens to raise regional tensions.

Iran’s air defense systems were activated in several regions as a precaution against potential aerial threats, according to state news agency IRNA.

Extensive checks in Isfahan, a critical central province with significant nuclear facilities, indicate that all sensitive military and security installations remain secure, with no incidents reported.

Missile defense systems were not activated, IRNA added.

The Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) urged its citizens in Israel to “depart if it’s safe to do so.”

The department warned that “military attacks may result in airspace closures, flight cancellations & diversions & other travel disruptions.”

It is concerned that Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion International Airport “may pause operations due to heightened security concerns at any time, & at short notice.”

Israel has carried out a strike inside Iran, a US official tells CNN, in a move that threatens to trigger further deadly conflict throughout the Middle East.

The attack came hours after Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian told CNN that if Israel takes any further military action against Iran, its response would be “immediate and at a maximum level.”

The details of a potential “maximum response” have been planned by Iran’s armed forces, he said.

Israel had for days been weighing its response to Iran’s unprecedented weekend strikes, most of which were intercepted.

Iran launched the attack in retaliation for a suspected Israeli strike on its embassy compound in Syria earlier this month.

That airstrike destroyed the consulate building and killed at least seven officials, including two top commanders.

The Israeli military said they “don’t have a comment at this time,” when asked by CNN about reports of explosions in Iran.

Israel carried out a strike inside Iran early Friday local time, a US official tells CNN. The target is not nuclear, the official said.

The US also said it had advance warning of Israel’s retaliation against Iran but “didn’t endorse” it, a senior US official said.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations in Jerusalem, February 18.

Israel had told the US on Thursday it would be retaliating against Iran in the coming days, a senior US official said.

“We didn’t endorse the response,” the official said.

Israel had been weighing a response to Iran’s weekend airstrikes targeting the Jewish state, most of which were intercepted.

Israel has carried out a strike inside Iran, a US official tells CNN. The attack came just hours after Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian told CNN in an interview that if Israel takes any further military action against it would be “immediate and at a maximum level.”

Iran’s state-aligned Tasnim news says nuclear facilities in Isfahan province are “completely secure,” citing a “reliable source.”

Other Iranian media outlets are reporting the same.

Israel has carried out a strike inside Iran, a US official told CNN Friday. The target of the strike was not nuclear, the official added.

Israel has carried out a strike inside Iran, a US official tells CNN, in a move that threatens to push the region deeper into conflict.

The target is not nuclear, the official said.

Prior to the Israeli strike Friday (local time), the US expectation was that they would not target civilian or nuclear facilities, another senior US official told CNN.

CNN has previously reported that Israel told the US its response would be limited in scope. US intelligence had suggested Israel was weighing a narrow and limited strike inside Iran because they felt like they had to respond with a kinetic action of some kind given the unprecedented scale of the Iranian attack

The range of targets was “never specified in precise terms but nuclear and civilian locations were clearly not in that category,” the second official added.

The US has been urging Israel not to respond to last weekend’s Iranian attack, which President Joe Biden on Thursday called “unprecedented.” The US “didn’t green light” an Israeli response, the second official said.

A working oil pumpjack is pictured in Taft, California, on September 21, 2023.

Oil prices surged nearly 4% and US stock futures fell sharply Thursday evening amid reports of explosions in Iran.

In recent trading, US oil prices climbed 3.7% to $85.80 a barrel. Brent crude, the world benchmark, gained 3.4% to $90.13 a barrel. 

Energy prices moved sharply higher as Iranian news agencies reported explosions heard near Iran’s Isfahan Airport.

The developments drove US stock futures steadily lower, with Dow futures down 480 points, or 1.3%. Nasdaq futures lost almost 2%.

“Israel’s response could determine whether oil supplies are ultimately under threat.”

Gold futures were up 1% at $2,422.4 per ounce in morning Asian trade with investors piling into safe-haven investments.

But stock markets in Asia sank as appetite for risk weakened, according to analysts.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 slid 3.5%. South Korea’s Kospi lost 3%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 1.5%. China’s Shanghai Composite inched down 0.1%.

Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian speaks during a UN Security Council meeting in New York City on Thursday.

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian warned Israel on Thursday against taking any military action against Iran.

The foreign minister said Iran sincerely hoped Israel would not repeat “the previous egregious error,” referencing the apparent Israeli strike on Iran’s embassy complex in Damascus, Syria.

The missiles and drones that Iran fired against Israel on Saturday were carried out in response to the suspected Israeli strikes and “stayed within a minimum of frameworks,” he said, adding that the intent was to take “equal action,” and “to let it be known we do have the means to respond.” But he warned that if Israel chooses to retaliate, “the next response from us will be immediate and at a maximum level.”