Our live coverage of the attack on Iran has moved here.
April 18, 2024 - Iran targeted in aerial attack
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
Updated 0617 GMT (1417 HKT) April 19, 2024
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Attack was a calculated message to Iran, retired US Army general says
From CNN's Michael Holmes and Elizabeth Wolfe
The attack on Iran early Friday was likely intended as both a retaliatory measure and a cautionary message, a retired US Army Major General told CNN.
For days, Israel has been weighing its response to unprecedented weekend strikes from Iran, which were launched in retaliation for a suspected Israeli strike on its embassy compound in Syria earlier this month.
A US official told CNN that Friday's attack was an Israeli strike. Israel has declined to comment on it.
“Israel must maintain its vigilance” in case Iran decides to respond with another show of force, retired Major General Mark MacCarley said.
By targeting the Iranian province of Isfahan — the site of significant nuclear facilities —Israel was likely warning that it could easily overwhelm Iran's defenses, MacCarley said.
“I think that there was a very deliberate thought process on the part of the Israeli war cabinet," he said.
"Israelis had to retaliate, but at the same time, within that retaliation was a message, and that is, 'Yes, we can get through. Don’t do it again. If you do it again, then all heck will break out.'"
Blast heard near Isfahan was caused by air defense firing at "suspicious object," Iranian official says
From CNN's Adam Pourahmadi and Irene Nasser
A loud blast heard near the Iranian city of Isfahan was caused by "air defense firing at a suspicious object," an Iranian senior military commander said, according to Iran's state-aligned Tasnim news agency.
There was no "damage or incident," said senior military commander Second Brigadier General Mihandoust in Isfahan Province, according to Tasnim.
A US official told CNN that Israel had carried out a strike inside Iran. The Israeli military has not commented.
Iranian state media are reporting that all facilities in the area are secure, including significant nuclear facilities.
Three explosions were heard early Friday near the military base where fighter jets are located in the Isfahan province, Iran's semi-official FARS news agency reported.
"The defense is activated in response to an object that is likely to be a drone," sources tell FARS news.
Iran's National Cyberspace Center spokesman, Hossein Dalirian, said air defenses shot down three drones and "there are no reports of a missile attack for now."
The Middle East is on edge after a strike on Iran. Here's what we know
From CNN staff
Israel has carried out a strike inside Iran, a US official told CNN on Friday, in a move that threatens to further escalate conflict in the Middle East.
Iran’s air defense systems were activated in several locations after explosions were heard close to the airport and an army base in the province of Isfahan, state media reported early Friday morning.
Israel has not taken responsibility for the attack.
Here's what we know:
- What Iranian reports say: Three blasts were heard near a military base where fighter jets are located in northwest Isfahan, Iran’s semi-official FARS news agency reported. Following the strike, Iranian media reported that all facilities around Isfahan are secure, including significant nuclear facilities in the area. Iran's National Cyberspace Center spokesman, Hossein Dalirian, said air defenses shot down three drones and "there are no reports of a missile attack for now."
- What was the target? That remains unclear, but the US official told CNN the strike's target was not nuclear. According to FARS, a military radar was a possible target. Ghahjaworstan, where an explosion was heard, is located near Isfahan Airport and “the eighth hunting base of the Army Air Force,” FARS reported.
- How did we get here? Tensions remain acute across the Middle East as Israel wages war in Gaza against Palestinian militant group Hamas, an Iranian ally. Meanwhile, a decades-long shadow conflict between Israel and Iran erupted into the open on the weekend when Iran launched an unprecedented attack on Israel that Tehran said was retaliation for a deadly suspected Israeli airstrike on Iran’s consulate in Syria.
- What Israel says: The Israeli military said Friday they "don't have a comment at this time" when asked by CNN about reports of explosions in Iran. Israel's war cabinet has met periodically this week without announcing any definitive action following the Iranian strikes on Israel last weekend.
- What the US says: Israel’s allies, including the United States, have called for restraint from Israel in a bid to prevent a regional war. The US "didn’t green light" an Israeli response, another senior US official told CNN. Prior to Friday's strike, the US expectation was that Israel would not target civilian or nuclear facilities, the second official said.
- What happens next? That also remains unclear. Reports of the explosions came hours after Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian told CNN that if Israel takes any further military action against Iran, its response would be “immediate and at a maximum level.” He added: “If the Israeli regime commits the grave error once again our response will be decisive, definitive and regretful for them.”
Iran lifts flight suspensions put in place following reports of explosions
From CNN's Adam Pourahmadi and Irene Nasser
Iran has lifted flight suspensions put in place after reports of explosions near a military base in Isfahan province, according to the spokesperson of the Civil Aviation Organization.
"We inform you that the operational restrictions imposed on the airports have been removed and the airlines are allowed to carry out scheduled flights," the spokesperson said.
Flights have resumed at Mehrabad Airport and Imam Khomeini International Airport, the two major airports in Iran's capital, Tehran, after being suspended earlier today.
Iran had earlier temporarily suspended all flights heading to the cities of “Tehran, Isfahan and Shiraz, the airports of the West, North West and South West," state-run Mehr TV reported.
Outgoing flights were also briefly canceled.
Iranian state media reports no major disruption to Isfahan's infrastructure
From CNN's Nic Robertson and Elizabeth Wolfe
Following a strike in Iran's Isfahan province, Iranian state media are reporting that all facilities in the area are secure, including significant nuclear facilities, CNN International Diplomatic Editor Nic Robertson reports.
Though a US official told CNN Israel has carried out a strike inside Iran, Israel has not taken responsibility for the attack.
"The overall impression that's being related by the Iranian government and other media outlets in Iran is that whatever events have happened — and they do leave it rather ambiguous — it has not damaged significantly any important facilities near Isfahan," Robertson said.
State media is also reporting that they have not had any enemy aircraft come into Iranian airspace, he added.
Flight en route to Tehran returns to Dubai
From CNN's Sandi Sidhu in Hong Kong
A flight from Dubai to Tehran was diverted back to the United Arab Emirates on Friday morning after Tehran's Imam Khomeini International Airport closed.
A Flydubai spokesperson told CNN that flights from Dubai to Iran had been canceled.
"Flydubai flight FZ 1929 from Dubai to Tehran on 19 April has returned to Dubai due to the closure of Tehran Airport (IKA). In line with the issued NOTAM, our flights to Iran today have been canceled. The safety of our passengers and crew is our priority," the spokesperson said.
The flight left for Dubai at 4:10 a.m. (8:10 p.m. ET) and arrived back in Dubai at 5:51 a.m. (9:51 a.m. ET).
US Secretary of Defense spoke with Israeli Defense Minister earlier Thursday before Israel attacked Iran
From CNN's Mary Kay Mallonee
US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin spoke with Israeli Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant earlier Thursday about “regional threats and Iran’s destabilizing actions in the Middle East,” according to a Pentagon readout.
The call happened before Israel carried out a strike inside Iran. The Pentagon readout does not mention any discussion of Israel’s plans to attack.
Austin also discussed "the importance of increasing and sustaining the flow of humanitarian aid to Gazan civilians, including via the new route from Ashdod Port in Israel," the readout said.
CNN reported Thursday night that Israel had told the US that it would be retaliating against Iran in the coming days, according to a senior US official.
Iran's air defense downs 3 drones, official says, as state media reports no large-scale strikes
From CNN's Adam Pourahmadi and Hamdi Alkhshali
Iranian air defenses shot down three drones Friday, according to a Tehran official, as state media said no large-scale strikes or explosions had been reported following blasts near the central city of Isfahan.
Three drones were "successfully shot down by the country's air defense, there are no reports of a missile attack for now," Iran's National Cyberspace Center spokesman, Hossein Dalirian, said on social platform X.
It comes after a US official told CNN Friday that Israel had carried out a strike inside Iran, in a move that threatens to raise regional tensions.
Iran's air defense systems were activated in several regions as a precaution against potential aerial threats, according to state news agency IRNA.
“Following the activation of air defense in some parts of the country to deal with some possible targets, reports indicate that so far, no large-scale strikes or explosions caused by any air threat has been reported,” IRNA said early Friday local time.
Extensive checks in Isfahan, a critical central province with significant nuclear facilities, indicate that all sensitive military and security installations remain secure, with no incidents reported.
Missile defense systems were not activated, IRNA added.
This post has been updated.
