What we’re covering
- Israel has carried out a strike inside Iran, a US official told CNN, in a move that threatens to push the region deeper into conflict. The Israeli military said they “don’t have a comment at this time” when asked by CNN about reports of explosions in Iran.
- Multiple explosions were heard near a military base in Isfahan province where fighter jets are located, according to reports from Iranian semi-official FARS news. Iranian air defenses have been activated in several provinces.
- Reports of the explosions came hours after Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian told CNN that if Israel takes any further military action against Iran, its response would be “immediate and at a maximum level.”
- Israel had for days been weighing its response to Iran’s unprecedented weekend strikes, most of which were intercepted. Iran launched the attack in retaliation for a suspected Israeli strike on its embassy compound in Syria earlier this month.
- Here’s how to help humanitarian efforts in Gaza and Israel.
Israel carries out strike in Iran, a US official says
Israel has carried out a strike inside Iran, a US official tells CNN, in a move that threatens to push the region deeper into conflict.
The target is not nuclear, the official said.
Prior to the Israeli strike Friday (local time), the US expectation was that they would not target civilian or nuclear facilities, another senior US official told CNN.
CNN has previously reported that Israel told the US its response would be limited in scope. US intelligence had suggested Israel was weighing a narrow and limited strike inside Iran because they feel like they have to respond with a kinetic action of some kind given the unprecedented scale of the Iranian attack
The range of targets was “never specified in precise terms but nuclear and civilian locations were clearly not in that category,” the second official added.
The US has been urging Israel not to respond to last weekend’s Iranian attack, which President Joe Biden on Thursday called “unprecedented.” The US “didn’t green light” an Israeli response, the second official said.
This post has been updated with the latest developments.
