Israel carried out an attack against targets in Iran

Israel has carried out a military strike inside Iran, a US official told CNN Friday, the latest move in a dangerous escalation that threatens to push the already volatile region into a wider conflict.

The US was given advance notification Thursday of an intended Israeli strike in the coming days, but didn’t endorse the response, a second senior US official said.

Iran’s air defense systems were activated in several locations after three explosions were heard close to a major military airbase near the Iranian city of Isfahan, state media reported early Friday morning.

A spokesman for Iran’s National Cyberspace Center said air defenses intercepted three drones and there were no reports of a missile attack, and Iran hasn’t identified the source of the strike.

Multiple state-aligned news agencies reported that sites associated with Iran’s nuclear program were completely secure and the attack appeared to be limited in scope.

Senior military commander, Second Brigadier General Mihandoust, told the Iranian state Tasnim news agency there was no damage and the noises heard overnight were due to air defense systems targeting a suspicious object.

Iranian media appeared to further downplay the attack later Friday, broadcasting calm scenes from Isfahan showing residents walking through parks and visiting landmarks.

Traffic was reported as normal and the airport was also reported to have reopened after flights were briefly canceled or suspended early Friday.

Tensions across the Middle East remain on a knife edge, following Iran’s unprecedented direct strike against Israel late Saturday.

The attack, during which Iran launched more than 300 drones and cruise missiles toward Israel, came in response to a suspected Israeli strike on an Iranian diplomatic complex in the Syrian capital, Damascus, on 1 April, which killed a top commander, and several others.

Meanwhile, the Israeli military said they don’t have a comment at this time.

Separately, material losses were reported in southern Syria after an Israeli strike, targeted our air defense sites in the southern region, Syrian official news agency SANA reported on Friday citing a military source, with no comment from the Israeli side.