Iran-Israel conflict: what we know about the events of the night after the explosions in Isfahan

Several explosions were reported early Friday, April 19, in central Iran, with senior U.S. officials reporting an Israeli attack in retaliation for unprecedented drone and missile strikes against Israel last weekend. The Iranian Tasnim agency, however, simultaneously indicated, citing “well-informed sources”, that there was “no information indicating an attack from abroad”.

Tehran reported three explosions near a military base in Qahjavarestan, a town located between Isfahan and its airport, in the center of the country, according to the official Fars agency. Drones have been shot down but there has been no missile attack “so far,” Iranian authorities said.

The nuclear installations based in the Isfahan region are “completely safe,” the Tasnim agency said. According to American officials to CNN, the target of the strikes was not nuclear. According to the Fars agency, however, a military radar was a possible target. Ghahjaworstan, where an explosion was heard, is "the air force's eighth fighter base," FARS reported.

Iran has activated its air defense in several provinces but “no large-scale damage or explosions have been reported,” the official IRNA agency said, based on information reported by its journalists. The nuclear facilities based in the Isfahan region, in central Iran, are “completely safe”, the Iranian Tasnim agency has since indicated. “Reports published in some foreign media about an incident at these facilities are incorrect,” the agency added, citing “trusted sources.”

Air connections resumed early Friday morning at Tehran's two airports after being suspended, according to the official Irna agency. Planes could again land and take off from Imam Khomeini and Mehrabad airports, IRNA said, indicating that a flight from Rome, which had been diverted to Ankara, was expected in Tehran.

These new developments come as Israel threatened to respond to the attack on its territory last weekend launched by Tehran after a deadly strike attributed to Israel against its consulate in Damascus, Syria. Israel said it had intercepted with its allies almost all of the approximately 350 drones and missiles launched by Iran, and affirmed that the Iranian attack would not go “unpunished”.

It was the first direct attack ever carried out by Iran against its archenemy. The head of Iranian diplomacy Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said that Iran would make Israel “regret” any attack against its territory. But by attacking Israel, Iran said it was acting in “self-defense” after the attack which destroyed its consulate in Damascus on April 1 and cost the lives of seven of its soldiers, including two senior officers. Tehran accused Israel, which neither confirmed nor denied. “Iran's self-defense actions and countermeasures are over, so the Israeli terrorist regime must stop any further military adventurism against our interests,” Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said during a meeting on the situation in the Middle East. East.

Also read “Iran will not get away with this”: Israel prepares to retaliate against Tehran’s aggression

If Tehran reported three explosions, resulting from the interception of drones, the Iranian Tasnim agency simultaneously indicated, citing “well-informed sources”, that there was “no information indicating a attack from abroad”, after explosions heard in the country. “Contrary to rumors and claims made by Israeli media,” there “are no reports of an attack from abroad on the central city of Isfahan or any other part of the country,” the statement said. agency, while no Iranian leader has publicly commented on these explosions.

The Israeli army told AFP that it had no comment “at the moment” on the subject of these explosions reported early Friday. The military said alarm sirens had sounded in northern Israel, the scene of exchanges of fire in recent months between the Israeli army and Hezbollah, supported by Iran.

According to American officials cited by several American television stations including the ABC News channel, these explosions are linked to an Israeli attack against Iran in retaliation for Iranian strikes against Israel last weekend. Washington was warned Thursday of the Israeli attack on Iran but neither approved the operation nor played any role in its execution, officials were quoted by American channels NBC and CNN as saying.

France's position is de-escalation and restraint in the Middle East, recalled the French Minister Delegate for Europe, Jean-Noël Barrot, on Friday on Sud Radio. “France’s position is to call on all partners in the region to de-escalate and restrain,” he declared. “It is undoubtedly a little early for me to be able to comment on what happened last night,” he added, specifying that the President of the Republic Emmanuel Macron would speak “in due time ".

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's office told the BBC that Israel had "the right to defend itself." “We insisted to the Israelis that what matters now is de-escalation,” they added.

The head of Italian diplomacy Antonio Tajani, who is chairing a meeting of his G7 counterparts in Capri, called on Friday for a “de-escalation”. “We urge everyone to exercise caution and avoid escalation. The G7 wants absolute de-escalation in a region plagued by serious tension,” the Italian minister declared on public television RAI.

Oman, a Gulf country which has long played mediator between Tehran and the West, condemned the “Israeli attack” in Iran on Friday.