US confirms Israeli missile attack within Iran

Photo illustration: The anti-missile system in operation during the attack Iran carried out on Israel, April 13th, 2024. Photo Credits: Reuters

Israel carried out a missile attack inside Iran before Friday dawn, American media reported, citing unidentified American and Israeli officials.

The New York Times and The Washington Post quoted Israeli officials as saying Israel carried out an air strike in Iran. US officials were quoted by numerous media, calling it a missile attack.

An Israeli Army spokesman told Voice of America there was no comment “currently on American media reports about an hour after their publication.

There was also no immediate public comment from President Joe Biden's administration on the incident in Iran.

Iranian state news agencies IRNA and Fars said the air defence of the Islamic Republic was activated near the central city of Isfahan. The director of the Iranian Space Agency said air defence forces dropped several fears.

Iranian state media rushed to downplay the incident, saying Ishan's nuclear facilities were safe. They also said operations at Tehran's Imam Khomeni International Airport and the Mehrabad internal airport were back in normality on Friday, hours after flights were suspended in a visible response to the alleged Israeli air strike.

Israel had warned Iran that it would avenge an unprecedented Iranian air strike on Israeli territory last Sunday. Iran had warned, on the other hand, that any revenge attacks on Israel would be met with a swift and harsher response.

The United States and other Western powers had asked the Israeli government to avoid escalating conflict. American officials had said that they had no intention of the American forces joining any revenge action in Israel.

Ahmed Fauad Alkhatib, a security analyst in the Middle East at the Atlantic Council, told the Voice of America that President Biden's administration understood Israel's need to carry out a revenge attack.

“Any Israeli attack would require involvement, co-operation, support and final approval of the US, cast doubt on the accuracy of the Biden administration claims that it would not be involved in an Israeli revenge”, analyst Alkhatib said. / VOA

US Defence Secretary spoke to Israeli counterpart before Israel attacked Iran