Israel has carried out a strike inside Iran, as region braces for further escalation
Israel has carried out a military strike inside Iran, a U.S. official told CNN Friday, a potentially dangerous escalation in a fast widening Middle East conflict that Iranian government officials have so far sought to play down.
The United States was given advance notification Thursday of an intended Israeli strike in the coming days, but did not endorse the response, a second senior U.S. official said. Secretary of State Antony Blinken later confirmed the U.S. 바카라 게임 웹사이트has not been involved in any offensive operations,바카라 게임 웹사이트 but was focusing on Israel바카라 게임 웹사이트s defense and de-escalation.
Iran바카라 게임 웹사이트s air defense systems were activated in the cities of Isfahan and Tabriz after three explosions were heard close to a major military airbase near Isfahan, state media reported early Friday morning.
Maj. Gen. Abdolrahim Mousavi, the commander-in-chief of Iran바카라 게임 웹사이트s army, said the explosions in the sky above Isfahan were related to anti-aircraft systems shooting at what he called a suspicious object, which did not cause any damage, Iranian state news IRNA reported. Other Iranian officials said air defenses intercepted three drones and there were no reports of a missile attack.
Iran has not identified the source of the strike.
Multiple state-aligned news agencies reported that sites associated with Iran바카라 게임 웹사이트s nuclear program were secure and the attack appeared to be limited in scope.
Iranian media appeared to further minimize the scale of the attack on 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.
Reports of Friday바카라 게임 웹사이트s strike came hours after Iran바카라 게임 웹사이트s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian told CNN that if Israel takes any further military action against Iran, its response would be 바카라 게임 웹사이트immediate and at a maximum level.바카라 게임 웹사이트
바카라 게임 웹사이트If the Israeli regime commits the grave error once again our response will be decisive, definitive and regretful for them,바카라 게임 웹사이트 he added, noting that this warning had been communicated to the White House via the Swiss Embassy in Tehran.
Tensions across the Middle East remain on a knife edge, following Iran바카라 게임 웹사이트s 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 April 1, which killed a top commander, and several others.
Separately, 바카라 게임 웹사이트material losses바카라 게임 웹사이트 were reported in southern Syria after an Israeli strike, targeted 바카라 게임 웹사이트our air defense sites in the southern region,바카라 게임 웹사이트 Syrian state media SANA reported Friday citing a military source. The Israeli military said that it does not comment on reports in foreign media.
The Israeli military said it was unable to provide a comment on Friday, when asked by CNN about reports of explosions in Iran.
At the end of a three-day meeting in Capri, Italy, the Group of Seven (G7) nations urged all parties in the region to 바카라 게임 웹사이트prevent further escalation.바카라 게임 웹사이트 Jordan바카라 게임 웹사이트s Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi also warned the strikes risk 바카라 게임 웹사이트dragging the region into further conflict,바카라 게임 웹사이트 adding that the 바카라 게임 웹사이트Israeli-Iranian retaliations must end.바카라 게임 웹사이트
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks on Israel attack on Iran
Iran warned of 바카라 게임 웹사이트maximum바카라 게임 웹사이트 response hours earlier
Israel바카라 게임 웹사이트s action in Iran is the latest escalatory move in a region that has been rocked by Israel바카라 게임 웹사이트s devastating war in Gaza following Hamas바카라 게임 웹사이트 brutal Oct. 7 attack. That attack killed more than 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and saw more than 200 others taken hostage.
Israel바카라 게임 웹사이트s bombardment and siege of Gaza has killed more than 33,000 Palestinians, according to Palestinian officials, caused widespread destruction of the enclave and sparked a humanitarian crisis where more than 1 million people face 바카라 게임 웹사이트catastrophic바카라 게임 웹사이트 levels of hunger.
Prior to Friday바카라 게임 웹사이트s Israeli strike, the U.S. expectation was the country would not target Iran바카라 게임 웹사이트s civilian or nuclear facilities, the senior U.S. official told CNN.
CNN has previously that Israel told the U.S. its response to the weekend attacks would be limited in scope. U.S. intelligence had suggested Israel was weighing a narrow and limited strike inside Iran because they feel like they have to respond with a kinetic action of some kind given the unprecedented scale of the Iranian attack
The range of targets was 바카라 게임 웹사이트never specified in precise terms but nuclear and civilian locations were clearly not in that category,바카라 게임 웹사이트 the senior official added.
Calls for restraint
Israel바카라 게임 웹사이트s Western allies have both rallied to its defense in the wake of Iran바카라 게임 웹사이트s attack Saturday, while also urging restraint.
President Joe Biden told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu he should consider Iran바카라 게임 웹사이트s strikes a win, since they had been largely unsuccessful and demonstrated Israel바카라 게임 웹사이트s ability to defend itself.
Biden had already made clear to Netanyahu that the U.S. would not participate in any offensive operations against Iran in response, a senior administration previously told CNN.
Benny Gantz, a key member of Israel바카라 게임 웹사이트s war cabinet, had pushed for a swift response to the attack, two Israeli officials told CNN, arguing that the longer Israeli delayed its response, the harder it would be to garner international support for it.
Some hardline officials have gone further. Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir said Israel should 바카라 게임 웹사이트go crazy바카라 게임 웹사이트 in response. Ben Gvir appeared to criticize Israel바카라 게임 웹사이트s reported strike, publishing a one-word response on X early Friday morning 바카라 게임 웹사이트 a slang word meaning 바카라 게임 웹사이트lame바카라 게임 웹사이트 or 바카라 게임 웹사이트weak.바카라 게임 웹사이트
Israel바카라 게임 웹사이트s opposition leader Yair Lapid called Ben Gvir바카라 게임 웹사이트s comment 바카라 게임 웹사이트unforgivable.바카라 게임 웹사이트
바카라 게임 웹사이트Never before has a minister in the security cabinet done such heavy damage to the country바카라 게임 웹사이트s security, its image and its international status,바카라 게임 웹사이트 Lapid said.
Jasmine El-Gamal, a former Middle East adviser to the U.S. Defense Department, told CNN that Israel and Iran바카라 게임 웹사이트s tit-for-tat strikes were about 바카라 게임 웹사이트posturing and messaging.바카라 게임 웹사이트
바카라 게임 웹사이트Neither side, obviously, is willing or ready to escalate into an all-out war. The Israelis in particular cannot get into an all-out war without the full support, both military and political, of the Americans, which President Biden made it clear he was not willing to give,바카라 게임 웹사이트 she said.
El-Gamal said Israel바카라 게임 웹사이트s reported strike was meant to tell Iran, 바카라 게임 웹사이트We can get to your nuclear sites if we want to. We know where they are, and even though we didn바카라 게임 웹사이트t hit them this time 바카라 게임 웹사이트 we can do it.바카라 게임 웹사이트