US calls for calm after officials say Israeli missile hit Iran

We're expecting to hear from US Secretary of State Antony Blinken shortly, who will talk to reporters at a news conference in Capri, Italy, following the conclusion of a G7 meeting.

We'll bring you updates on what he says, and you can also watch live by clicking the play button at the top of the page.

The EU's top diplomat has put out a message on social media calling for "all actors to show maximum restraint".

Posting on X, Josep Borrell says: "We concluded the @G7 amidst reports of strikes in the Middle East. The G7 calls once again all actors to show maximum restraint. We have to stop the war in Gaza and avoid it expands to the rest of the region."

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Countries around the globe have been calling on both Iran and Israel to show restraint after this latest strike, amid fears the conflict could escalate across the region.

• UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak avoids commenting on reports of an Israeli attack on Iran, saying it "wouldn't be right for me to speculate until the facts become clearer”. He repeats calls for de-escalation: "Significant escalation is not in anyone's interest. What we want to see is calm heads prevail across the region."
• China also calls for de-escalation. Foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said "China opposes any actions that further escalate tensions and will continue to play a constructive role to de-escalate the situation."
• Egypt, a key player in the mediation efforts between Hamas and Israel, says that they are deeply concerned about an escalation of hostilities between Israel and Iran. A foreign ministry statement warned of the consequences of expanding the conflict and instability in the region.
• Turkey also calls on all parties to refrain from steps that could lead to a wider conflict. A foreign ministry statement said it was becoming "increasingly obvious" that the tensions between Iran and Israel following the attack on 1 April risked "turning into a permanent conflict”.
• Germany pleads for restraint, with the government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit saying "De-escalation must be the advice of the hour, we must prevent a conflagration at all costs," adding that it goes to "all sides".

Iranians woke up to reports of a "micro drones" attack on a military site in Isfahan, central Iran.

Some western officials with knowledge of Israel’s possible retaliation against Iran’s unprecedented drone and missile attack on Israel believe that this is only “the first stage”.

“The strategy is: Minor attack to make Iran react for a major response on the nuclear sites”, according to a western diplomat in Lebanon.

Meanwhile, a western military official says that based on reports from Syria and Iran - indicating that some essential radars were the target of drone strikes in both countries, “Israelis are kind of mirroring Iran and its allies like Hezbollah by first trying to destroy radars, creating false or delusive targets as well as trying to damage the radars to disable interception systems," they said.

There is still a lot of contradictory information coming out from Iran regarding the incident, with IRGC-linked media Tasnim denying “any attack on Iran” quoting “informed sources".

While some Iranian officials told media that “there won’t be any reaction from Iran to the incident”.

But the question is, was this really Israel’s expected retaliation? Western officials I talked to believe it was not. They tell me it is only a “trap” to “test the waters.”

ReutersCopyright: Reuters

It is not clear what, if anything, was targeted in the overnight Israeli strike in Iran. However, it should not really come as a surprise that explosions were reported in the central province of Isfahan.

Isfahan is the home of several nuclear facilities, including the Isfahan Nuclear Technology Centre and the Natanz uranium enrichment plant.

Iran accused Israel of sabotaging the latter in April 2021, when there was an explosion in an underground area that damaged a large number of centrifuges. Israeli media reported at the time that it was an operation by the Mossad intelligence agency.

There are also a number of important military sites in Isfahan, including Shahid Babaei airbase and facilities for the development and production of missiles.

In January 2023, Iran blamed Israel for a attack on a what it called a “workshop complex” in the centre Isfahan city, which it said involved three drones and caused minor damage. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said at the time that his country had been “taking action against certain weapons development" in Iran, but he neither confirmed nor denied involvement.

A nuclear and chemical weapons expert has told the BBC the selection of Isfahan, Iran's second city, as a potential target was "very significant".

Hamish De Bretton Gordon, a former commander of UK and Nato nuclear forces, notes the city has many military bases around it - with one of them apparently being the target overnight.

"[The reported attack] was fairly near to where we believe Iran is building nuclear weapons, so I expect it was a nod to them," he tells BBC News.

De Bretton Gordon goes on to make the case the purpose of the strikes was a "very much a demonstration of capability and perhaps intent".

Quote Message: Iran fires 300 plus miles at Israel, they virtually all get shot down. Israel fires one, perhaps two missiles, at an Iranian target - which appears to have got through and caused damage."

Iran fires 300 plus miles at Israel, they virtually all get shot down. Israel fires one, perhaps two missiles, at an Iranian target - which appears to have got through and caused damage."

He adds that Israel "vastly overmatches" Iran in conventional military power, so Tehran would prefer to use proxies for attacks and avoid going "toe to toe with Israel, where it knows it would get a real hammering".

On the Iranians downplaying the significance of the attack, De Bretton Gordon says they don't want to acknowledge that any Israeli missiles have got through their "very antiquated" air defence systems and hit targets.

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A video posted by the Iranian Tasnim news agency reportedly shows a nuclear facility in Isfahan this morning, following reports of explosions in the area.

The footage shows a man checking his watch near the site. The camera then zooms in on several troops standing around what looks like an air defence battery. The reporter describes everything as "safe and sound".

It was aired amid reports Israel had launched a strike against Iran in response to Tehran's missile and drone attack on Israel last weekend.

The International Atomic Energy Agency says there has been no damage to Iranian nuclear sites.

ReutersCopyright: Reuters

By not publicly acknowledging responsibility for the strike - as is commonplace - Israel’s war cabinet may hope to make it more difficult for hard-line members of the governing coalition to criticise the limited nature of the attack, thus avoiding a political row over Passover.

But that did not restrain some.

Israel’s far-right National Security Minister, Itamar Ben Gvir, said a few days ago he wanted Israel to “go berserk” in response to Iran’s attack.

This morning the minister - upon whose faction Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu depends - seemed less than impressed.

On X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, he posted one word, best translated as: "Lame.”

Israel’s opposition leader, Yair Lapid, hit back hard at this, posting:

Quote Message: A security cabinet minister has never caused such heavy damage to the country’s security, image and international standing. With an unforgivable, one word tweet Ben Gvir managed to ridicule and embarrass Israel all the way from Tehran to Washington. Any other prime minister would have thrown him out of the cabinet this morning."

A security cabinet minister has never caused such heavy damage to the country’s security, image and international standing. With an unforgivable, one word tweet Ben Gvir managed to ridicule and embarrass Israel all the way from Tehran to Washington. Any other prime minister would have thrown him out of the cabinet this morning."

The flight tracking website Flightradar24 shows how several airports in Iran closed last night, and flights were cleared from part of its airspace, following reports an Israeli missile had struck the country.

Some airlines including Turkish Airlines, flydubai and Emirates rerouted their aircraft.

But with airports and airspace now re-opened, there are passenger planes in the sky above Iran again.

Airlines will be keeping a very close eye on the security situation though, and things aren’t quite back to normal.

Flydubai has cancelled its services to Iran today. The airline told the BBC it’s monitoring the situation closely and will make changes to flight paths ‘"in consultation with the relevant authorities".

Lufthansa had already decided earlier this week not to use Iranian airspace until 30 April, and have announced today they would be suspending flights to Tel Aviv and Erbil and fly around Iraqi airspace until tomorrow.

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We've just heard from the UK's former ambassador to Lebanon, Tom Fletcher, who has told BBC Radio 4's Today programme the picture is still "quite hazy" and many across the region are "waking up with real fear".

"This is a sign that Israel does intend to continue this game of high-stakes poker with Iran," he says.

Fletcher added that diplomats across the region, as well as the US and UK, "will all be looking to find ways to play it down now".

"We don't know how much of an escalation this is for now. Clearly Iran is starting to signal that it is not necessarily a major escalation. They are playing it down. And of course Israel could have chosen to do something more dramatic," he says.

Fletcher goes on to say Israel is "clearly saying" to Iran that it can "dial it up" and that nuclear sites are not off-limits, despite Iran attempting to signal in the last few days "you don't go near the nuclear sites".

"The danger in all of this of course is that there is risk of miscalculation," Fletcher says.

Iranian media and officials have downplayed reports of an attack on sites in the central city of Isfahan and the north-western city of Tabriz.

Hossein Dalirian, spokesperson for the country's National Centre of Cyberspace and the Iran Space Agency, in a post X denied there had been a direct missile attack from outside the country, which contradicts the line from US officials that an Israeli missile has hit Iran.

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Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images

Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images

Today is Friday, the day of weekly prayers across the Muslim world.

In Iran it has often been the scene of furious, vitriolic speeches vowing to strike a punishing blow against Israel, "the Zionist enemy", the US and others.

Yet Iran’s response to this morning’s limited Israeli strikes on its territory has been muted and mild, with some officials even denying outright that it even took place at all.

Another mocked it as "a failed attack" involving just a "few quadcopters".

It is important for Iran’s leadership, which is facing serious domestic challenges at home, to present itself as victorious in its approach to Israel.

Last weekend’s mass Iranian missile and drone strike against Israel has been presented as "teaching the enemy a lesson", even though Israeli air defences and others shot down almost everything and no one was killed.

This is partly about saving face and looking strong. But it is also about calibration, deterrence and calculated responses.

There are many in Israel’s cabinet who would have liked to see a much bigger attack on Iran today.

But Israel’s friends made it clear that would be dangerous and could lead to a wider war that could drag in the US and send energy prices soaring as well as sending thousands fleeing the region.

Israel appears to have heeded this appeal but still sent a message: that it can strike close to Iran’s nuclear programme in Isfahan province and that next time it could be with much greater force.

The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, is calling on Iran, Israel and their allies to refrain from further escalation.

"It is absolutely necessary that the region remains stable and that all sides refrain from further action," she says, speaking from Lappeenranta in eastern Finland.

ReutersCopyright: Reuters

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G7 leaders are due to discuss the overnight explosions in Iran on the third day of their three-day meeting in Capri, Italy.

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani says he has spoken with the country's ambassador to Iran and is "following developments".

He added that there are currently "no critical issues" for Italian citizens living in Iran and told RAI news that the G7 wanted an "absolute de-escalation".

Canada's Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly, who is also at the meeting, said her team is "monitoring the situation closely".

G7 leaders previously agreed to step up cooperation in managing growing tensions in the Middle East.

Oman has condemned the reported Israeli attack on Iran.

In a statement from the foreign ministry, they condemned "the repeated Israeli military attacks in the region as well".

Oman has been acting as a mediator in the Middle East attempting to de-escalate the situation.

France also calls for de-escalation in the region, with Deputy Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot saying "France's position is to call on all actors for de-escalation and restraint".

An Israeli missile reportedly hit Iran overnight, six days after Tehran's unprecedented attack on Israeli territory last weekend. Here's what we know so far:

• An Israeli missile has hit Iran, US officials have told the BBC's partner station CBS News, with explosions heard around the central city of Isfahan early Friday morning, Iranian media reports
• Iranian media say three drones were destroyed after the country's air defence systems were activated
• They cite an army general in Isfahan province as saying that no damage has been reported
• Isfahan province is home to a large airbase, a major missile production complex and several nuclear facilities. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has said no nuclear sites were damaged

• The Pentagon and Israel's military have both declined to comment so far

Some background

• Iran has been on high alert after Israel said it would respond to an Iranian attack against it on Saturday night

• Iran launched more than 300 missiles and drones towards Israel on 13 April in an unprecedented attack. Israel and Western allies were able to down most of them before they reached Israeli territory
• Tehran has maintained this attack was in response to a suspected Israeli strike on its Syria consulate which killed 13 people

• Israel had indicated that it would hit back though international leaders have been urging the country to show restraint
• Several US media outlets reported that Washington had received advanced notice of Israel's strikes

A senior Iranian official tells Reuters news agency "Iran has no plan for immediate retaliation against Israel," hours after an attack on the Iranian city of Isfahan, that is reported to have been conducted by Israel.

Two US officials told media the attack came from Israel, but Israel has not claimed responsibility so far.

"The foreign source of the incident has not been confirmed. We have not received any external attack, and the discussion leans more towards infiltration than attack," the Iranian official said on condition of anonymity.

Only about an hour ago, an Iranian analyst told Iranian state TV that "Mini drones shot down by air defences in Isfahan were flown by infiltrators from inside Iran", downplaying the reports that Israel had conducted the attack.