Israel carried out limited missile strikes in Iran early Friday in retaliation for Tehran firing a barrage of missiles and drones at Israel late Saturday. Fox News Digital has confirmed there have been explosions in Isfahan province where Natanz is located though it is not clear whether it has been hit. Natanz is the site of one of Iran’s nuclear facilities.
A well-placed military source has told Fox that the strike was “limited.” Pentagon officials have not confirmed the strike. Commercial flights, meanwhile, began diverting their routes early Friday morning over western Iran without explanation as one semiofficial news agency in the Islamic Republic claimed there had been “explosions” heard over the city of Isfahan, Reuters reported.
The semiofficial Fars news agency reported on the sound of explosions over Isfahan near its international airport. It offered no explanation for the blast. However, Isfahan is home to a major airbase for the Iranian military, as well as sites associated with its nuclear program.
Iran attacked Israel over the weekend in retaliation for Israel’s deadly strike on Iran’s consulate earlier this month that killed a dozen people, including a top general.
The weekend attack by Iran marked a major escalation of violence. Despite decades of hostilities between the two nations, Iran has never directly attacked Israel, instead relying on proxy forces in Iraq, Lebanon and elsewhere.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
