April 19, 2024 - Iran targeted in aerial attack

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the G7 countries were "committed to de-escalating" tensions between Israel and Iran.

"We’re committed to Israel’s security. We’re also committed to de-escalating -- to trying to bring this tension to a close," Blinken said during a news conference at the conclusion of the group's meeting in Capri, Italy, hours after a US official told CNN that Israel had launched a military strike on Iran.

He also said the countries shared "a commitment to hold Iran to account."

Blinken said the nations condemned Iran's weekend strikes on Israel. He called those attacks "unprecedented in scope and scale; scope because it was a direct attack on Israel from Iran, scale because it involved more than 300 munitions including ballistic missiles."

Israeli soldiers who fail to protect Palestinians from settler violence or take part in such attacks face disciplinary action, the Israeli military told CNN on Friday, in response to a critical report from an international NGO.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) comments came after Human Rights Watch accused the IDF of failing to protect Palestinians in the occupied West Bank from violent attacks by settlers since October 7 and on some occasions taking part in those attacks.

HRW said in its report that such attacks have displaced Palestinians from 20 communities and entirely uprooted at least seven communities.

The IDF said that its mission was to “maintain the security of all residents of the area, and to act to prevent terrorism and activities that endanger the citizens of the State of Israel.”

If Israeli citizens break the law, the Israeli police are responsible for arresting and charging them, the IDF said.

The IDF conceded that its troops had witnessed some Israelis attacking Palestinians. 

Russia has urged "restraint" after Israel launched a military strike on Iran, a country with which the Kremlin has a close strategic partnership.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said during a call with journalists Friday that Russia is "studying" details of the attack, and that it would be “premature to comment" until its nature becomes clear.

But Peskov added: “In any case, no matter what, we continue to advocate restraint on the part of the parties and refusal of actions that could provoke a further escalation of tension in such a difficult region."

Russia has relied on Iranian weapons during its ongoing invasion of Ukraine, frequently targeting Ukrainian cities with Iranian-made Shahed drones.

The two nations have a close partnership; Moscow has for years purchased drones and ballistic missiles from Iran, while providing Tehran with investment and trade.

Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid has criticized far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir for an "unforgivable tweet" that has been interpreted as ridiculing the military strike in Iran.

Ben Gvir published a one-word post on X, consisting only of a slang word meaning “lame” or "weak," just hours after explosions were heard in Iran on Friday.

Israel had carried out a military strike on Iran, a US official told CNN. Israel has not commented and Iran has not identified the source of the attack.

Neither politician explicitly said that their comments referred to the attack on Iran.

Ben Gvir had previously said Israel should "go crazy" in its response to last weekend’s Iranian drone and missile attack on Israel.

Former prime minister Lapid said that Ben Gvir had "managed to mock and shame Israel from Tehran to Washington."

Ben Gvir's fellow hardline right-wing minister Bezalel Smotrich on Wednesday had said that Israel's response to Iran's attack should inflict a "disproportionate toll" and "rock Tehran" to deter Iran from future strikes.

The finance minister said Israel "should rock Tehran, so everyone there will realize they shouldn't mess with us."

The UK's Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said he wants to see “calm heads prevail” in the Middle East. 

“Significant escalation is not in anyone’s interest,” Sunak said at a press conference in London on Friday.

Israel carried out a military strike on Iran on Friday, a US official told CNN. Israel has not commented and Iran has not identified the source of the strike.

The British prime minister said that the UK is working with its allies to confirm the details of the attack.

Sunak repeated his condemnation of Iran’s "barrage of missiles against Israel on Saturday" and reiterated Israel’s right to self-defense. 

Iran’s army commander-in-chief said the explosions in the sky above the province of Isfahan were related to anti-aircraft systems shooting at what he called a suspicious object that did not cause any damage, Iran’s official news agency IRNA reported.

The commander-in-chief's comments align with an earlier report from Iran's Tasnim news agency, which quoted senior military commander Second Brigadier General Mihandoust in Isfahan saying there was no "damage or incident" following the explosion in that area.

The senior commander also said the blast heard were caused by "air defense firing at a suspicious object."

China spoke out against any escalation of tensions in the Middle East after Iran was targeted in an aerial attack.

Some context: Israel carried out Friday's attack, a US official told CNN. Israel has not commented, and Iran has not identified the source of the attack. 

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani have called for restraint after an attack on Iran.

Israel carried out Friday's attack, a US official told CNN. The Israeli military has not commented, and Iran has not identified the source of the attack. 

A "diplomatic effort" from EU and G7 members is already underway to quell tensions in the region after the strike, Tajani told reporters on the sidelines of a G7 foreign ministers summit in Italy.

EU chief von der Leyen also called for de-escalation, saying it is "absolutely necessary" for the Middle East to stay "stable," urging all sides to "refrain from further action."

An aerial attack on Iran on Friday came fresh on the heels of earlier tit-for-tat Iranian and Israeli strikes, a potentially dangerous escalation of the Middle East conflict as a decades-long shadow war between the two countries emerges into the open.

What the US says: Israel carried out the strike, a US official told CNN. The US was given advance notification Thursday of an Israeli strike in the coming days, but “didn’t green light” an Israeli response, another senior US official told CNN.

What Israel says: Israel has not claimed responsibility or commented.

What Iran says: Iranian officials and state-aligned media have so far sought to play down the incident.

Iranian air defenses intercepted three drones, a Tehran official said, after reports of explosions near an army base in the central province of Isfahan. There were no reports of a missile attack, he said.

A loud blast near Isfahan city was caused by “air defense firing at a suspicious object,” a senior Iranian military commander said, adding there was no “damage or incident,” according to the state-aligned Tasnim news agency.

All facilities around Isfahan were secure, including significant nuclear sites, Iranian media reported. The UN nuclear watchdog confirmed no Iranian nuclear sites were damaged.

Why is this happening now? The attack follows an unprecedented Iranian assault on Israel last weekend that Tehran said was retaliation for a deadly suspected Israeli airstrike on Iran’s consulate in Syria on April 1. The reprisals marked the first time the Islamic Republic had launched a direct assault on Israel from its soil.

In the wake of Iran’s retaliatory attack, countries including the US called for restraint from Israel to prevent escalation, as Israel’s war against the Palestinian militant group Hamas in Gaza has already stoked regional tensions.

What's next? Hours before the first reports of explosions in Iran emerged Friday, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian had warned that Tehran’s response to any further Israeli military action against it would be “immediate and at a maximum level."

The details of a potential “maximum response” have been planned by Iran’s armed forces, he added.

Iranian media, however, appeared to downplay the severity of Friday’s attack, publishing footage and images of calm scenes in Isfahan and the northwestern city of Tabriz.

A regional intelligence source with knowledge of Iran's potential reaction said Tehran was not expected to respond to the strikes — but did not give a reason.

Here are more details on what we know.