Kathleen Magramo, Sana Noor Haq, Christian Edwards, Aditi Sangal, Elise Hammond, Amir Vera, Tori B. Powell and Maureen Chowdhury, Adam Renton and Elizabeth Wolfe, CNN
From CNN's Hamdi Alkhshali and Artemis Moshtaghian
All flights heading to the cities of “Tehran, Isfahan and Shiraz, the airports of the West, North West and South West have been suspended," the director of Iran’s public relations for an airport company announced in an interview with state-run Mehr TV.
The suspension is effective immediately, but flights have not been canceled, the director said.
“Passengers should check the flight information before departure,” he added.
From CNN's Hamdi Alkshali and Artemis Moshtaghian
An explosion was heard in the Iranian city of Ghahjaworstan, located northwest of the city of Isfahan, according to the Iranian semi-official FARS news agency, citing local sources.
"The city of Ghahjaworstan is located near Isfahan Airport and the eighth hunting base of the Army Air Force," FARS news said.
Iranian Press TV also reported an explosion was heard near the central city.
The cause of this explosion is unknown.
The post was updated with a map.
From CNN's Jennifer Hauser
Flight tracking website Flight Radar 24 shows multiple flights diverted over Iranian airspace early Friday.
CNN counted at least eight flights.
From CNN's Luciana Lopez
S&P Global Ratings cut Israel's sovereign credit rating on Thursday to A+ from AA- on increased geopolitical risk from the war with Hamas and friction with Iran.
"In our view, the recent increase in confrontation with Iran heightens already elevated geopolitical risks for Israel," S&P analysts wrote. "We expect a wider regional conflict will be avoided, but the Israel-Hamas war and the confrontation with Hezbollah appear set to continue throughout 2024 – versus our previous assumption of military activity not lasting more than six months."
Israel's rating outlook is negative, which means another downgrade could come again at some point.
Credit ratings are used by markets and investors as a guide to how creditworthy they think a borrower is. A lower credit rating means that a lender will generally ask for a higher interest rate in return for money.
Israel's credit rating is still considered investment grade – a higher tier of ratings than the alternative, commonly referred to as junk ratings – but the S&P move underscores the financial toll on top of the humanitarian effects of the war.
From CNN's Jennifer Hauser and Tara John
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian warned Israel on Thursday against taking any military action against Iran.
"In case the Israeli regime embarks on adventurism again and takes action against the interests of Iran, the next response from us will be immediate and at a maximum level," Amir-Abdollahian told CNN's Erin Burnett in an exclusive live interview.
The foreign minister said Iran sincerely hoped Israel would not repeat "the previous egregious error," referencing the apparent Israeli strike on Iran's embassy complex in Damascus, Syria.
"Our response will be decisive through the Swiss embassy in Tehran," he said. "We've announced to the White House, sent a message to the White House and Washington DC, the administration in which we've reiterated that if the Israeli regime commits the great error once again our response will be decisive, definitive and regretful for them," Amir-Abdollahian said from the Iranian Permanent Mission to United Nations — one of the only places he is allowed to be the US given the State Department restrictions.
The missiles and drones that Iran fired against Israel on Saturday were carried out in response to the suspected Israeli strikes and “stayed within a minimum of frameworks,” he said, adding that the intent was to take "equal action," and "to let it be known we do have the means to respond." But he warned that if Israel chooses to retaliate, “the next response from us will be immediate and at a maximum level.”
The post was updated with more of the minister's remarks to Erin Burnett.
From CNN's Hamdi Alkhshali
Hamas condemned the US for using its veto power against a draft resolution that would have granted Palestine full membership in the United Nations.
The draft — presented by Algeria, representing the Arab Group — received support from 12 countries but was blocked by the US veto.
In a statement released early Friday local time, Hamas criticized the US stance as opposing the rights of the Palestinian people to self-determination and statehood, and supporting what it termed the "fascist occupation entity" of Israel.
The statement said the US is isolating itself from international consensus supporting Palestinian rights, and called on the international community to pressure the US to change its position and support Palestinian aspirations for an independent state with Jerusalem as its capital.
The statement thanked Algeria, the Arab Group, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and non-aligned countries that backed the resolution.
From CNN's Hamdi Alkhshali
Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the minister of foreign affairs of the United Arab Emirates, spoke on the phone Thursday with his Iranian counterpart, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, UAE state news agency WAM reported.
The call focused on addressing the latest “dangerous developments in the region and their repercussions on the regional and international peace and security," according to WAM.
During the discussion, Sheikh Al Nahyan urged for maximum “self-restraint and working to prevent the expansion of the circle of tension in the Middle East.”
He reiterated that diplomacy and dialogue remain the essential paths to resolving conflicts and securing the region's stability and safety, according to the UAE state news outlet.
Remember: The conversation comes as Israel mulls its response to unprecedented airstrikes by Iran last weekend, which were themselves a response to a suspected Israeli strike on Iran's embassy compound in Syria earlier this month.
World leaders are voicing growing concern that the strikes have heightened the risk of a wider war in the Middle East.
From CNN’s Hamdi Alkhshali
The Palestinian presidency sharply criticized the United States on Thursday for using its veto power to block Palestine's bid for full membership in the United Nations.
In a statement, the presidency described the veto as "unfair, immoral, and unjustified, and defies the will of the international community, which strongly supports the State of Palestine obtaining full membership in the United Nations.”
The statement accused the US of promoting policies that support ongoing Israeli military actions in Palestinian territories and hinder the peace process, “which has continued to use its veto against the rights of our people.”
“This aggressive American veto reveals the contradictions of American policy, which claims, on the one hand, to support the two-state solution, while it prevents the international institution from implementing this solution through its repeated use of the veto in the Security Council against Palestine and its legitimate rights,” the statement added.
The statement said that lasting peace in the region hinges on the end of Israeli occupation and recognition of Palestinian rights, including self-determination and sovereignty over East Jerusalem.
Some background: In September 2011, the Palestinian Authority failed to win UN recognition as an independent member state. A year later, the UN decided that the PA’s “non-member observer entity” status would be changed to “non-member observer state,” similar to the Vatican.
The Palestinian Authority, which is dominated by the Fatah political party, held administrative control over Gaza until 2007, after Hamas won the 2006 legislative elections and expelled it from the enclave. Since then, Hamas ruled Gaza and the Palestinian Authority governs parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
The US favors a reformed Palestinian Authority leading both the West Bank and Gaza as part of an eventual independent state. But Israel has rejected the prospect of the Palestinian Authority returning to Gaza after the ongoing war, and has dismissed the idea of establishing a Palestinian state in the territories.
From CNN's Richard Roth and Benjamin Brown
The United States vetoed a UN Security Council application granting statehood to Palestinians on Thursday.
The vote was 12-1 — the one being the US veto — and two abstentions.
The US, Israel's chief ally, said it believes statehood should be dependent on negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians.
The US has “been very clear, consistently, that premature actions in New York, even with the best intentions, will not achieve statehood for the Palestinian people," State Department deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel said earlier Thursday.
He also noted there was no unanimity as to whether the applicant met the criteria for membership as a state.
Ziad Abu Amr, special representative of the Palestinians, told the Security Council:
"How could granting and recognizing Palestine, the state of Palestine, how could granting the State of Palestine full membership at the United Nations, similar to other countries around the world, how could this damage the prospect of peace between Palestinians and Israelis?”
Israel’s Foreign Minister Israel Katz commended the US for vetoing what he called a “shameful proposal."
“The proposal to recognize a Palestinian state, more than 6 months after the largest massacre of Jews since the Holocaust and after the sexual crimes and other atrocities committed by Hamas terrorists was a reward for terrorism,” Katz wrote on X.
“Terrorism will not be rewarded. Israel will continue to fight until Hamas is destroyed and all 133 hostages in Gaza are released,” Katz added.
This post has been updated with the US veto and comments from representatives for Israel and the Palestinians.
