Flights radar maps show empty air space over Iran as the nation suspended flights over several cities, including the central city of Isfahan, where explosions were heard near the airport. A senior US official told ABC News that Israel had begun their strike against Iran in retaliation for the 300 missiles that Iran launched over Israel last week. A Fox News report cited a ‘well-placed military official’ as saying the strike ‘was limited.’...CONTINUE READING
Iran’s Fars news agency earlier reported explosions were heard near its airport, but “the cause of these sounds is still unknown, and investigations continue until the exact details of the incident are determined,” the semi-official Fars news agency said in a statement.
Since the explosions, “Flights over Isfahan, Shiraz and Tehran cities have been suspended,” state media reported.
As explosions are heard around a central Iranian airport, flights have been grounded
Another senior US official told CNN that, Israel “is not targeting Iranian nuclear facilities.” Iran’s state-aligned Tasnim news confirmed that the nuclear facilities in Isfahan province are “completely secure,” citing a “reliable source.”
Iranian state-sanctioned media agency IRNA confirmed that the country’s air defence batteries were activated and fired on early Friday morning in several provinces, but IRNA did not elaborate on which ones or what specifically caused the batteries to fire as it remains unconfirmed what the cause of the explosions was.
Iran’s attack on Israel was also a retaliation, this time for an Israeli strike in Damascus the week before, which killed seven officers from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, including two generals.
Israel had been weighing its plans for a long time, with the US government previously stating that they would not participate in a retaliatory strike and urge Israel to reconsider.
Benjamin Netanyahu appeared to accept that they’d carry the sole responsibility for a retaliatory attack on Iran, saying yesterday after a meeting with officials that “We will make our decisions ourselves. The state of Israel will do whatever is necessary to defend itself.”
It appears since then that Israel did inform the US of their plans to launch an air strike after all, according to a CNN report that sites a senior official.
Commercial flights began diverting their routes early on Friday morning over western Iran without explanation as one semi-official news agency in the Islamic Republic claimed there had been “explosions” heard over the city of Isfahan.
The incident comes as tensions remain high in the wider Middle East after Iran’s unprecedented missile-and-drone attack on Israel.
Dubai-based carriers Emirates and FlyDubai began diverting around western Iran about 4:30am local time. They offered no explanation, though local warnings to aviators suggested the airspace may have been closed.
The semi-official Fars news agency reported on the sound of explosions over Isfahan near its international airport. It offered no explanation for the blast.
It remained unclear if the country was under attack. However, tensions remain high after Iran’s unprecedented missile-and-drone attack on Israel. One government official suggested sites may have been targeted by drones.
However, Isfahan is home to a major airbase for the Iranian military, as well as sites associated with its nuclear program. Iran’s government offered no immediate comment. Isfahan is some 215 miles south of Iran’s capital, Tehran.
