April 18, 2024 - Iran targeted in aerial attack

The Israeli military said they “don’t have a comment at this time,” when asked by CNN about reports of explosions in Iran.

Israel carried out a strike inside Iran early Friday local time, a US official tells CNN. The target is not nuclear, the official said.

The US also said it had advance warning of Israel’s retaliation against Iran but “didn’t endorse” it, a senior US official said.

The strike against Iran early Friday is just the latest in an intensifying and uncertain series of attacks in the Middle East.

Should a tit-for-tat between Israel and Iran develop, the conflict between the nations threatens to get “very grim very quickly,” an international relations expert told CNN.

Iran could choose to target Israel through proxies in Lebanon and Iraq, as well as with the help of Hamas in Gaza and the Houthi militant group in Yemen, Ghosh said.

Friday’s strikes have pitched the conflict into “unknown territory,” he said.

CNN Global Affairs Analyst Kim Dozier said this “escalation ladder” between the countries could lead to “something really dire — an all-out back and forth between the two.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations in Jerusalem, February 18.

Israel had told the US on Thursday it would be retaliating against Iran in the coming days, a senior US official said.

“We didn’t endorse the response,” the official said.

Israel had been weighing a response to Iran’s weekend airstrikes targeting the Jewish state, most of which were intercepted.

Israel has carried out a strike inside Iran, a US official tells CNN. The attack came just hours after Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian told CNN in an interview that if Israel takes any further military action against it would be “immediate and at a maximum level.”

Israel has carried out a strike inside Iran, a US official tells CNN, in a move that threatens to trigger further deadly conflict throughout the Middle East.

The attack 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.”

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

Israel had for days been weighing its response to Iran’s unprecedented weekend strikes, most of which were intercepted.

Iran launched the attack in retaliation for a suspected Israeli strike on its embassy compound in Syria earlier this month.

That airstrike destroyed the consulate building and killed at least seven officials, including two top commanders.

Iran’s state-aligned Tasnim news says nuclear facilities in Isfahan province are “completely secure,” citing a “reliable source.”

Other Iranian media outlets are reporting the same.

Israel has carried out a strike inside Iran, a US official told CNN Friday. The target of the strike was not nuclear, the official added.

IRGC released a photo that it said showed flashes in the sky of Isfahan, Iran following reports of explosions.

Israel has carried out a strike inside Iran, a US official tells CNN, in a move that threatens to push the region deeper into conflict.

The target is not nuclear, the official said.

Prior to the Israeli strike Friday (local time), the US expectation was that they would not target civilian or nuclear facilities, another senior US official told CNN.

CNN has previously reported that Israel told the US its response would be limited in scope. US intelligence had suggested Israel was weighing a narrow and limited strike inside Iran because they feel like they have to respond with a kinetic action of some kind given the unprecedented scale of the Iranian attack

The range of targets was “never specified in precise terms but nuclear and civilian locations were clearly not in that category,” the second official added.

The US has been urging Israel not to respond to last weekend’s Iranian attack, which President Joe Biden on Thursday called “unprecedented.” The US “didn’t green light” an Israeli response, the second official said.

This post has been updated with the latest developments.

A working oil pumpjack is pictured in Taft, California, on September 21, 2023. 

Oil prices surged nearly 4% and US stock futures fell sharply Thursday evening amid reports of explosions in Iran.

In recent trading, US oil prices climbed 3.7% to $85.80 a barrel. Brent crude, the world benchmark, gained 3.4% to $90.13 a barrel. 

Energy prices moved sharply higher as Iranian news agencies reported explosions heard near Iran’s Isfahan Airport.

The developments drove US stock futures steadily lower, with Dow futures down 480 points, or 1.3%. Nasdaq futures lost almost 2%.

“Israel’s response could determine whether oil supplies are ultimately under threat.”

Gold futures were up 1% at $2,422.4 per ounce in morning Asian trade with investors piling into safe-haven investments.

But stock markets in Asia sank as appetite for risk weakened, according to analysts.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 slid 3.5%. South Korea’s Kospi lost 3%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 1.5%. China’s Shanghai Composite inched down 0.1%.

This post has been updated with more information.

Iranian semi-official FARS news is reporting that three explosions were heard near the military base where fighter jets are located in the Isfahan province.

It has been said that the army radar was one of the possible targets and the windows of several office buildings were broken in this area, FARS reports.

The cause of the blasts are not yet known.

Reports of the explosion come 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.”

Iranian state media Press TV is reporting outgoing flights from several Iranian airports have been canceled, citing an Iranian official.

All flights going to Tehran, Isfahan and Shiraz had already been suspended, the director of Iran’s public relations for an airport company announced in an interview with state-run Mehr TV.

Iran’s air defense systems have been activated in several provinces of the country, state news IRNA reported in the early hours of Friday local time.