Israel attacks Iran: Tehran shoots down several drones, US knew about the strike | 10 points
19 Apr 2024 12:37:36
Tehran, April 19: Iran activated its air defence system after Israel launched drone and missile attacks on Isfahan early Friday morning. According to local media, a loud explosion was heard in Isfahan.
1. Israel launched a strike against Iran in retaliation for its weekend attack though the country is yet to issue an official statement.
2. Explosions were heard near the central city of Isfahan. Notably, Isfahan is home to a major military air base and several Iranian nuclear sites are in the province- including the city of Natanz, a center piece of Iran’s uranium enrichment program.
5. Dubai-based carriers Emirates and FlyDubai began diverting around western Iran around 4:30 am (local time). They offered no explanation, though local warnings to aviators suggested the airspace may have been closed.
8. On Thursday, Iran’s foreign minister told CNN that if Israel chooses to retaliate, Tehran’s response would be immediate. “If the Israeli regime commits the great error once again our response will be decisive, definitive and regretful for them,” Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said.
Here is what we know so far about Israel's attack on Iran
1. Israel launched a strike against Iran in retaliation for its weekend attack though the country is yet to issue an official statement.
2. Explosions were heard near the central city of Isfahan. Notably, Isfahan is home to a major military air base and several Iranian nuclear sites are in the province- including the city of Natanz, a center piece of Iran’s uranium enrichment program.
3. Iran said it shot down several drones and that there had been “no missile attack for now” on the country. Several drones "have been successfully shot down by the country's air defence, there are no reports of a missile attack for now," Iran's space agency spokesman Hossein Dalirian said on X.
4. Tehran's Imam Khomeini International Airport was closed to all flights, according to a notice to airmen posted on a US Federal Aviation Administration database.
5. Dubai-based carriers Emirates and FlyDubai began diverting around western Iran around 4:30 am (local time). They offered no explanation, though local warnings to aviators suggested the airspace may have been closed.
6. US officials said Israel warned the Biden administration earlier on Thursday that a strike was coming in the next 24 to 48 hours.
7. Tensions across the region remain high after Iran launched hundreds of drones as well as cruise missiles towards Israel on Saturday, in the Islamic Republic’s first ever direct attack on the Jewish state, in response to the 1 April strike on an Iranian diplomatic building in the Syrian capital, Damascus, which killed a senior figure in Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards and eight other officers.
8. On Thursday, Iran’s foreign minister told CNN that if Israel chooses to retaliate, Tehran’s response would be immediate. “If the Israeli regime commits the great error once again our response will be decisive, definitive and regretful for them,” Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said.