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WORLD & NATION

Apparent Israeli attack in Iran draws anti-aircraft fire as tensions high between
Mideast rivals
Demonstrators wave a huge Iranian flag backdropped by a building emblazoned with
anti-Israeli messages, in Tehran.
Demonstrators in Tehran wave an Iranian flag after Iran launched hundreds of drones
and missiles in a revenge attack on Israel. (Vahid Salemi / Associated Press)
By Jon Gambrell
April 18, 2024 8:09 PM PT
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DUBAI — An apparent Israeli drone attack near a major air base and a nuclear site
around the central city of Isfahan activated Iranian air defenses early Friday,
just days after Tehran’s unprecedented drone-and-missile assault on Israel.
No Iranian official directly acknowledged the country was attacked, and Israel’s
military did not respond to a request for comment. However, tensions have remained
high since Iran’s early Saturday assault on Israel amid its war on Hamas in the
Gaza Strip. Iran’s first direct attack on Israel was retaliation for a deadly April
1 Israeli strike on an Iranian diplomatic compound in Syria.

Speaking at the G7 meeting in Capri, Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said
the U.S. received “last-minute” information from Israel about the attack on
Isfahan. Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken did not dispute that but said: “We
were not involved in any offensive operations.”

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The apparent attack came on Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s 85th
birthday. Israeli politicians also made comments hinting that the country had
launched an attack.

Air defense batteries fired in several Iranian provinces over reports of drones
being in the air, state television reported. Iranian army commander Gen. Abdolrahim
Mousavi said that crews targeted several flying objects but that the incident
caused no damage.

Iranian demonstrators wave a Palestinian flag during their anti-Israeli gathering

at the Felestin (Palestine) Square in Tehran, Iran, early Sunday, April 14, 2024.
Iran launched its first direct military attack against Israel Saturday. The Israeli
military says Iran fired more than 100 bomb-carrying drones toward Israel. Hours
later, Iran announced it had also launched much more destructive ballistic
missiles. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
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Iran launches airstrikes toward Israel in retaliatory move, boosting chance of

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Analysts said the relatively limited scope of the Israeli attack and the subdued
response by Iran seemed to indicate the threat of an immediate escalation had
diminished.
That “both sides downplayed it is the biggest of stories” out of the latest attack,
said Alex Vatanka, director of the Iran program at the Washington-based Middle East
Institute research center. “Neither side is ready to jump over the brink.’’

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Gueterres called for an end to the strikes. “It is
high time to stop the dangerous cycle of retaliation in the Middle East,” his
office said.

Authorities said Iran’s air defenses fired at a major air base in Isfahan, which
long has been home to Iran’s fleet of American-made F-14 Tomcats — purchased before
the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

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The semiofficial Tasnim news agency published a video from one of its reporters,
who said he was in the southeastern Zerdenjan area of Isfahan, near its “nuclear
energy mountain.” The footage showed two different anti-aircraft gun positions, and
details of the video corresponded with known features of the site of Iran’s Uranium
Conversion Facility at Isfahan.

“At 4:45, we heard gunshots. There was nothing going on,” he said. “It was the air
defense, these guys that you’re watching, and over there too.”

The facility at Isfahan operates three small Chinese-supplied research reactors, as

well as handling fuel production and other activities for Iran’s civilian nuclear
program. Isfahan is also home to Iran’s underground Natanz enrichment site, which
has been repeatedly targeted by suspected Israeli sabotage attacks.

State television described all sites in the area as “fully safe.” Gen. Siavosh
Mihandoost, a local army commander, also told state TV the incident caused “no
damage” around Isfahan.

The International Atomic Energy Agency wrote on X that “there is no damage to

Iran’s nuclear sites.” It said the agency’s director general “continues to call for
extreme restraint from everybody and reiterates that nuclear facilities should
never be a target in military conflicts.”

Iran’s nuclear program has rapidly advanced to producing enriched uranium at nearly
weapons-grade levels since the collapse of its atomic deal with world powers after
then-President Trump withdrew America from the accord in 2018.

Israeli Iron Dome air defense system launches to intercept missiles fired from
Iran, in central Israel, Sunday, April 14, 2024. Iran launched its first direct
military attack against Israel on Saturday. The Israeli military says Iran fired
more than 100 bomb-carrying drones toward Israel. Hours later, Iran announced it
had also launched much more destructive ballistic missiles. (AP Photo/Tomer
Neuberg)
WORLD & NATION

News Analysis: Can both sides declare victory in Iran-Israel clash?

April 15, 2024

Though Iran insists its program is for peaceful purposes, Western nations and the
IAEA say Tehran operated a secret military weapons program until 2003. The IAEA has
warned that Iran now holds enough enriched uranium to build several nuclear weapons
if it chose to do so — though the U.S. intelligence community maintains Tehran is
not actively seeking the bomb.

Dubai-based air 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 then grounded commercial flights in Tehran and across areas of its western and
central regions. Iran later restored normal flight service, authorities said.

Around the time of the incident in Iran, Syria’s state-run SANA news agency quoted
a military statement saying Israel carried out a missile strike targeting an air
defense unit in its south and causing material damage.

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
whether there were casualties, the Observatory said.

That area of Syria is directly west of Isfahan, some 930 miles away, and east of
Israel.

Meanwhile in Iraq, where a number of Iranian-backed militias are based, residents

of Baghdad reported hearing sounds of explosions.

Authorities said they later found what appeared to be recent fragments of an air-
to-surface missile near Latifiya, southwest of Baghdad. In Iran’s initial attack on
Israel, it did not use such weapons — though Israel has several types available for
its air force — raising the possibility it was fired Friday as part of the attack.

An official with an Iranian-backed militia in Iraq, who spoke on condition of

anonymity because he was not authorized to brief journalists, said the missile had
been shot down as a result of jamming operations. The Iraqi army does not have
jamming devices of the type apparently used to down the missile, but Iran has
provided such devices to its affiliated militias.

The apparent attack also briefly spooked energy markets, sending benchmark Brent
crude above $90 before it fell again in trading Friday.

However, Iranian state-run media sought to downplay the incident after the fact.
That could be intentional, particularly after Iranian officials for days have been
threatening to retaliate for any Israeli retaliatory attack on the nation.

“As long as Iran continues to deny the attack and deflect attention from it and no
further hits are seen, there is space for both sides to climb down the escalation
ladder for now,” said Sanam Vakil, the director of the Middle East and North Africa
program at Chatham House.

Vatanka, the Middle East Institute analyst, agreed but with a major caveat.

“Probably we’re going to go back to the proxy war,“ he said, but now it’s a proxy
war with the risk of “that sudden eruption of state-to-state war. Which we didn’t
have to worry about before.”

Gambrell writes for the Associated Press. AP writers Nasser Karimi, Mehdi Fattahi
and Amir Vahdat in Tehran, Iran, contributed to this report.

More to Read
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken meets the journalists during a press
conference at the G7 Foreign Ministers meeting on Capri Island, Italy, Friday,
April 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
Israel gave U.S. last-minute warning about drone attack on Iran, Italy’s foreign
minister says at G7
April 19, 2024
Israeli Iron Dome air defense system launches to intercept missiles fired from
Iran, in central Israel, Sunday, April 14, 2024. Iran launched its first direct
military attack against Israel on Saturday. The Israeli military says Iran fired
more than 100 bomb-carrying drones toward Israel. Hours later, Iran announced it
had also launched much more destructive ballistic missiles. (AP Photo/Tomer
Neuberg)
Letters to the Editor: How Israel can upset Iran’s theocrats without death and
destruction
April 18, 2024

Iranian army members march during Army Day parade at a military base in northern
Tehran, Iran, Wednesday, April 17, 2024. In the parade, President Ebrahim Raisi
warned that the "tiniest invasion" by Israel would bring a "massive and harsh"
response, as the region braces for potential Israeli retaliation after Iran's
attack over the weekend. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
Netanyahu brushes off calls for restraint, says Israel will decide how to respond
to Iran’s attack
April 17, 2024

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