A senior U.S. military official revealed on Thursday that the Israeli military has launched missile strikes against Iran. Additionally, there have been reports of explosions in Iraq and Syria. These strikes are believed to be in retaliation for an Iranian attack on Sunday, during which Tehran launched numerous drones and missiles at Israel.
Although most of Iran’s projectiles were intercepted or caused minimal damage, Israel had vowed to respond. The U.S. military official, speaking anonymously on Thursday, did not provide details regarding the extent of Israel’s strikes or the weapons utilized.
According to Iran’s state news agency IRNA, Brigadier General Mihan Dost, a military official in Isfahan, stated that loud noises heard east of the city were the result of air defenses intercepting what he referred to as a “suspicious target.” He confirmed that no damage was reported in the area.
Other Iranian news agencies have not corroborated reports of such a strike, instead suggesting that the sounds near Isfahan were likely the result of intercepting one or more drones. Israel’s military and prime minister’s office have yet to respond.
The International Atomic Energy Agency has affirmed via social media that Iran’s nuclear facilities remain unharmed. On the other hand, Israel’s National Security Minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, criticized the apparent strike on Iran as “weak” and insufficient via the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.
Despite the tensions, commercial flights to and from Israel are operating normally, and the country’s Home Front Command, responsible for issuing civilian threat alerts during military crises, has not altered its threat assessment.
In Iran, flight operations were briefly suspended in the morning but resumed after a few hours. The U.S. and its western allies had been pressing Israel to refrain from launching a military strike to prevent a potential escalation of the Israel-Hamas conflict into a broader regional confrontation.
These concerns were heightened following an airstrike, attributed to Israel by Iran, that resulted in the deaths of two Iranian military commanders at the country’s consulate in Damascus, Syria, on April 1st.
Iran cited this incident as the reason for its retaliatory attack on Israel on Sunday.