Israel launched an attack against the Islamic Republic of Iran during the early morning hours on Friday in response to Iran launching an unprecedented attack on Israel.
U.S. officials confirmed to multiple American publications that Israeli missiles struck sites inside Iran.
Initial reports said that explosions happened in the Iranian cities of Isfahan and Natanz. Although the targets of the attack have not been confirmed, both cities have significant facilities in the country’s nuclear program. Iranian state media later reported that none of the nuclear facilities in the area were hit.
Subsequent reports said that the explosions happened near a military base where Iranian fighter jets were located.
People in Isfahan said that they heard multiple explosions that “led to the houses shaking violently from the intensity of the explosions,” according to local reports.
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Flight trackers showed multiple commercial passenger planes immediately rerouting and leaving the country, including flights that were about to land. Iran suspended flights in Tehran, Isfahan and Shiraz.
A plane going in for landing in Tehran has turned around pic.twitter.com/lPNOGubPkX
— Faytuks News Δ (@Faytuks) April 19, 2024
Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), who is the vice chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, said just moments after the news of the strikes became public: “Israel has the ability to conduct strikes against targets inside Iran without entering Iranian air space from aircraft over Syrian and Iraqi airspace.”
Fox News later reported that a U.S. military source confirmed that the strikes were carried out by manned aircraft.
The strikes, which were limited in scale, came after President Joe Biden did everything he could to prevent the Israelis from retaliating on Iranian soil after the Islamic regime launched combined more than 300 missiles and drones at Israel last weekend.
Shortly before the attack happened, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian threatened the U.S. and Israel while conducting an interview on U.S. soil.
“In case the Israeli regime embarks on adventurism again and takes action against the interests of Iran, the next response from us will be immediate and at a maximum level,” he said. “It will be decisive. Our response will be decisive through the Swiss embassy in Tehran.”
This report has been updated to include additional information.