Iran refutes claims of Israeli attack on Isfahan

TEHRAN: Iran has refuted claims of the Israeli attack on its soul, following the explosions in Isfahan.

Explosions heard in Isfahan were a result of the activation of air defence systems, an Iranian official told Reuters on Friday, adding that no missile attack was carried out against Iran.

Earlier, US media outlet ABC News in a report claimed Israeli missiles hit a site in Iran, days after Tehran launched a retaliatory drone strike on 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, centerpiece of Iran’s uranium enrichment program.

Tehran’s Imam Khomeini International Airport was closed to all flights until 0700 GMT, according to a notice to airmen posted on a US Federal Aviation Administration database.

Some Emirates and Flydubai flights that were flying over Iran early on Friday made sudden sharp turns away from the airspace, according to flight paths shown on tracking website Flightradar24.

Background

Iran launched the attack over Israeli strike on its consulate in Syria on April 1 that killed top Revolutionary Guards commanders and followed months of clashes between Israel and Tehran’s regional allies, triggered by the war in Gaza.

Tehran told the United Nations Security Council on Thursday that Israel “must be compelled to stop any further military adventurism against our interests” as the U.N. secretary-general warned that the Middle East was in a “moment of maximum peril.”