Israeli missiles hit a site in Iran, ABC News reported Thursday night, citing a U.S. official, while Iranian state media reported an explosion in the center of the country, days after Iran launched a drone strike in retaliation against Israel.
Iran’s Fars news agency said an explosion was heard at an airport in the central city of Isfahan, but the cause was not immediately known. Iran suspended flights over the cities of Isfahan, Shiraz and Tehran, state media reported.
Several Iranian nuclear sites are located in Isfahan province, including Natanz, the centerpiece of Iran’s uranium enrichment program. Isfahan, about 350 kilometers (215 miles) south of Iran’s capital Tehran, is also home to a major air base for the Iranian military.
Tehran’s Imam Khomeini International Airport was closed to all flights until 7:00 GMT, according to a notice to aviators published in a US Federal Aviation Administration database.
Iran’s government had no immediate comment. The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Some Emirates and Flydubai flights over Iran early Friday made sharp and sudden turns away from the airspace, according to flight paths shown on tracking website Flightradar24.
Israel had said it would retaliate against Iran’s attack over the weekend, which involved hundreds of drones and missiles in retaliation for an alleged Israeli attack on its embassy compound in Syria. Most of the Iranian drones and missiles were shot down before reaching Israeli territory.
Analysts and observers have expressed concern about the risks of the conflict between Israel and Gaza spreading to the rest of the region.
Iran told the United Nations Security Council on Thursday that Israel “must be forced to stop any new military adventure against our interests,” as the UN secretary general warned that the Middle East was in a “moment of maximum danger.” .
