Israel launches airstrikes targeting Syrian air defense system, state news agency reports

Israel carried out a missile strike targeting an air defence unit in its south and causing material damage, Syria's state-run SANA news agency quoted a military statement as saying on Friday.

The warplanes were seen around the time loud noises and drones were reported near a major Iranian air base and nuclear site early Friday.

That area of Syria is directly west of Isfahan, some 1,500 kilometers (930 miles) away, and east of Israel. Iran fired air defence batteries early Friday and some flights were diverted or grounded after reports of explosions near a major airbase and nuclear site where drones were spotted. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken didn't comment about the latest Middle East developments as he arrived for the final session on Friday morning of a Group of Seven foreign ministers' meeting in Capri, Italy.

Israel has vowed to respond to Iran's unprecedented weekend attack, leaving the region bracing for further escalation after months of fighting in Gaza. Allies have urged Israel to hold back on any response to the attack that could spiral. The United States and Britain announced on Thursday that they were imposing a new round of sanctions on Iran. The moves came as European Union leaders meeting in Brussels vowed to ramp up sanctions on Iran to target its drone and missile deliveries to proxies in Gaza, Yemen and Lebanon.

Regional tensions have increased since the start of the latest Israel-Hamas war on October 7, when Hamas and Islamic Jihad — two militant groups backed by Iran — carried out a cross-border attack that killed 1,200 people in Israel and kidnapped 250 others. Israel responded with an offensive in Gaza that has caused widespread devastation and killed more than 33,900 people, according to local health officials.

Here is the latest: ISRAELI STRIKE TARGETS AIR DEFENCE UNIT IN SYRIA, STATE NEWS AGENCY SAYS Israel carried out a missile strike targeting an air defence unit in its south and causing material damage, Syria's state-run SANA news agency quoted a military statement as saying Friday.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition war monitor, said the strike hit a military radar for government forces. It was not clear if there were casualties, the Observatory said.

The Observatory's chief Rami Abdurrahman said six Israeli fighter jets entered Syria's airspace and were flying east when they were spotted by the radar. He added that the fighters jets were flying east. The warplanes were seen around the time loud noises and drones were reported near a major Iranian air base and nuclear site early Friday. That area of Syria is directly west of Isfahan, some 1,500 kilometers (930 miles) away, and east of Israel. Iranian state television described all atomic sites in the Isfahan area as “fully safe”. The United Nations' nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, also said “there is no damage to Iran's nuclear sites” after the commotion.

IRAN FIRES AIR DEFENCSE BATTERIES AFTER APPARENT EXPLOSIONS ARE HEARD NEAR MAJOR AIR BASE Iran fired air defense batteries early Friday morning at a major air base and a nuclear site near its central city of Isfahan over drones being spotted, raising fears of a possible Israeli retaliatory strike following Tehran's unprecedented drone-and-missile assault on the country. It was unclear if the country was under attack, as no Iranian official directly acknowledged the possibility and Israel's military did not respond to a request for comment.

However, tensions have remained high in the days since the Saturday assault on Israel amid its war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip and its own strikes targeting Iran in Syria. US officials declined to comment as of early Friday, but American broadcast networks quoting unnamed US officials said Israel carried out the attack. Air defences fired in several provinces over reports of drones being in the air, state television reported. However, Iranian state-run media sought to immediately downplay the incident, airing footage of an otherwise-peaceful Isfahan morning.

The facility at Isfahan operates three small Chinese-supplied research reactors, as well as handles fuel production and other activities for Iran's civilian nuclear programme.

SOME FLIGHTS ARE DIVERTED OR GROUNDED AROUND IRAN AFTER LOUD NOISE' NEAR ISFAHAN Dubai-based carriers Emirates and FlyDubai began diverting around western Iran about 4:30 a.m. local time. They offered no explanation, though local warnings to aviators suggested the airspace may have been closed.

Iran later announced it grounded commercial flights in Tehran and across areas of its western and central regions. Loudspeakers informed customers of the incident at Imam Khomeini International Airport in Tehran, online videos purported to show.

Iranian state television began a scrolling, on-screen alert acknowledging a “loud noise” near Isfahan, without immediately elaborating.

Hossein Dalirian, a spokesperson for an Iranian government cyberspace agency who as a journalist had ties to Iranian defense officials, said on the X social media platform that several small “quadcopter” drones had been shot down.

A state television reporter in Isfahan said the same in a live report, saying “several small drones were flying in the sky over Isfahan, which were fired at”.

Meanwhile in Iraq, where a number of Iranian-backed militias are based, residents of Baghdad reported hearing sounds of explosions, but the source of the noise was not immediately clear.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)