Two US officials confirm to CBS News that an Israeli missile has hit Iran. The strike follows last weekend's retaliation attack with drones and missiles against Israel, to which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had promised to respond.
Officials were tight-lipped about the location or scope of the Israeli strike. When contacted by CBS News, the Israel Defense Forces had no comment on the attack.
Iran's state news agency IRNA said air defenses fired on a major airbase in Isfahan, long home to Iran's fleet of US-made F-14 Tomcats. bought before the Islamic Revolution of 1979.
The semi-official Fars and Tasnim news agencies also reported the sound of explosions, without giving a cause. State television acknowledged a “loud noise” in the area.
Isfahan is also home to sites associated with Iran's nuclear program, including its underground Natanz enrichment site, which has been repeatedly targeted by suspected Israeli strikes. However, state television described all sites in the area as “completely safe”.
Dubai-based airlines Emirates and FlyDubai began diverting to western Iran around 4:30 a.m. local time. They offered no explanation, although local warnings to airmen suggested the airspace may have been closed.
Iran later announced that it had grounded commercial flights to Tehran and areas of its western and central regions. Loudspeakers informed customers of the incident at Tehran's Imam Khomeini International Airport, online videos purported to show.
Iran launched an unprecedented retaliatory strike against Israel last weekend in response to a deadly attack on an Iranian consulate in Syria that killed seven officers, including two generals, from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. 'Iran.
Iran's attack on Israel included 170 drones, more than 30 cruise missiles and 120 ballistic missiles, according to the IDF and US officials. None of the drones crossed into Israeli territory before being shot down by Israel and its allies, including the US, the IDF said.
Five of the ballistic missiles hit Israel, and four of them hit Israel's Nevatim Air Base, where Israeli F-35s are based, US officials told CBS News. Officials believe the base was likely Iran's primary target, as the attack on the consulate in Syria is believed to have been carried out by an F-35.
United States and other allies of Israel have asked Netanyahu to show restraint in any possible response to Iran. US officials have said the country would not participate in any Israeli retaliatory strikes.
After Iran's attack, which the IDF said caused “very little damage,” President Biden pressed the Israeli prime minister to “think about what this success says for itself to the rest of the region “, according to the National Security Council. spokesman John Kirby.
– Margaret Brennan, James LaPorta, David Martin and Haley Ott contributed to the report.
This is a developing story. It will be updated.
