Israeli officials had notified the US on Thursday that they planned to retaliate within 24-48 hours, according to two US officials who spoke to Bloomberg and asked not to be identified discussing private conversations. Spokespeople for the National Security Council and the Pentagon declined to comment.
Dubai-based carriers Emirates and FlyDubai began diverting around western Iran around 4:30am Iran time. They offered no explanation, though local warnings to aviators suggested the airspace may have been closed.
Iran then suspended flights over several cities.
“Flights over Isfahan, Shiraz and Tehran cities have been suspended,” state media reported.
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Iranian state television began a scrolling, on-screen alert acknowledging a “loud noise” near Isfahan, without immediately elaborating.
Warning sirens sounded in northern Israel, the Israeli military said.
The incident comes as tensions remain high in the wider Middle East after Iran’s unprecedented missile-and-drone attack on Israel.
Fars reported on the sound of explosions over Isfahan near its international airport. It offered no explanation for the blast. However, Isfahan is home to a major airbase for the Iranian military, as well as sites associated with its nuclear program.
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Iran’s government offered no immediate comment.
The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Isfahan is some 350 kilometres south of Iran’s capital, Tehran.
Hossein Dalirian, a spokesman for Iran’s civilian space program, said on the X social media platform that several small “quadcopter” drones had been shot down. It wasn’t immediately clear where that happened or if it was part of the ongoing incident.
Last weekend, Iran launched hundreds of drones and missiles in a retaliatory strike after a suspected Israeli strike on its embassy compound in Syria. Most of the drones and missiles were downed before reaching Israeli territory.
The strike in Syria killed two Iranian generals. Iran supports Hamas in its fight against Israel.
Iran told the United Nations Security Council on Thursday that Israel “must be compelled to stop any further military adventurism against our interests” as the US secretary-general warned that the Middle East was in a “moment of maximum peril.”
Israel had said it was going to retaliate against Iran’s missile and drone attack. The United States and several other countries have called on Israel not to respond.
More to come
Reuters, AP, Bloomberg
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