By Jon Gambrell—
The Associated Press
Early Friday (local time) Israel launched a limited attack against Iran, the scope of which is still being evaluated, in retaliation for the barrage of missiles and drones launched against its territory last week (which were intercepted and barely caused damage). Iran activated the air defenses of a major air base and nuclear facilities located near the city of Isfahan, but has not reported the attack or its possible consequences.
The International Atomic Energy Agency, dependent on the United Nations, reported on Friday that none of the Iranian nuclear facilities have suffered damage, according to a message published on the social network X. The UN also called for "maximum restraint" from all parties involved. to avoid regional war.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated after the attack: "We are not participating in any offensive operations." At a news conference on the Italian island of Capri during the G-7 summit he said he was not going to "talk about these events," adding that the United States was focused on decreasing violence in the Middle East.
Blinken stated that the G7 was committed to Israeli security and "to de-escalation, to trying to bring this tension to an end."
At the meeting he said there was "a commitment to hold Iran accountable, hold it accountable for its destabilizing activities, hold it accountable to degrade its missile and drone capabilities."
The attack coincided with the 85th birthday of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Air defense batteries were activated in several Iranian provinces due to the presence of drones in the air, according to state television. "This morning's explosion in the sky over Isfahan was related to air defense systems against a suspicious object, which did not cause any damage," said Abdolrahim Mousavi, commander of the Iranian army.
Iranian officials said air defenses were also activated at a major air base in Isfahan, which has long housed Iran's fleet of American-made F-14 fighters acquired before the 1979 Islamic revolution.
The Tasnim news agency published a video of a reporter who said he was in the southeastern Zerdenjan area of Isfahan, near the "nuclear energy mountain." The images showed two different positions of anti-aircraft guns, and the details of the video coincided with the known characteristics of the site of Iran's uranium processing facilities (which claims to be working on a non-military civilian nuclear energy program, despite the suspicions of Israel and the US).
"At 4:45 we heard shots. Nothing was happening," he said in the video, "it was the anti-aircraft defense, those guys you're seeing, and over there too."
Three small reactors supplied by China operate at the Isfahan facility, and fuel manufacturing and other tasks for Iran's civil nuclear program are carried out.
Isfahan is also home to facilities of the Iranian nuclear program, including the underground Natanz enrichment plant, which was repeatedly the target of alleged Israeli sabotage. State television has described all nuclear facilities in the area as "completely safe."