The Islamic Republic of Iran attempted to save face on Friday morning by dismissing reports of Israeli airstrikes in the country.
Israel’s strike, which was limited in scale, came in response to an unprecedented missile and drone barrage, more than 300 in total, launched by Iran last week. Israel, the U.S., U.K., Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and U.A.E. defended against Iran’s attack last weekend, downing 99% of the projectiles fired at Israel.
U.S. and Israeli officials confirmed to various publications that Israel launched the strike against Iran during the early morning hours on Friday morning. The strikes appeared to be carried out by manned aircraft that did not even enter Iranian airspace.
Israel struck targets near the city of Isfahan, which is home to the country’s largest nuclear research facility.
Iran is in the process of strengthening its ties with Russia and is seeking advanced Russian military hardware that could enable it to better defend itself in the future.
Shortly after the attack, Iran went on the defensive and tried to downplay the strikes, which Israel interpreted as a sign that Iran was no longer interested in escalating tensions — for now. Iranian officials and state news outlets gave multiple explanations for the explosions.
“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,” an Iranian official told Reuters.
Other officials told outlets that the strike only involved a few small drones that were destroyed by Iran’s air defense systems.
One newsreader for Iranian state media described the strike as “not a big deal,” according to The New York Times.
The Jerusalem Post reported that sources said that Iranian authorities claimed that the explosions took place “at a factory.”
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Islamic Republic of Iran state media, including the agency controlled directly by the IRGC, is going to great lengths to show that all is well in Isfahan by publishing multiple videos like this one.
By the way, Isfahan is just over 200 miles away from Tehran. pic.twitter.com/ss21Jw68gc
— Yashar Ali 🐘 (@yashar) April 19, 2024
The IRGC’s news agency is denying reports of attacks within in Iran committed by external actors.
But US officials continue to confirm to multiple news outlets that an attack occurred and the United States was informed in advance.
Keep in mind this reporter from another news… pic.twitter.com/yxaPFCbm8m
— Yashar Ali 🐘 (@yashar) April 19, 2024
Hezbollah’s second-in-command said that the Iranian-backed terrorist organization, based in southern Lebanon, did not want to ramp up its fight against Israel despite doing just that this week when it launched attacks that injured 18 people.
“Tehran speaks publicly and clearly,” said Naim Qassem, Hezbollah’s deputy secretary-general. “They do not want war and they have responded to the attack” that killed an Iranian general-linked to the Hamas’ October 7 terrorist attack.
Related: Iran’s Foreign Minister: Our Response To Israeli Attacks ‘Will Be Immediate And At A Maximum Level’