Air force in Isfahan in sight: Israel apparently launches a retaliatory strike against Iran. But he denies the reports. The news ticker.
Update from April 20th, 6:33 a.m.:
While the fronts between Israel and Iran continue to harden, the foreign chief of the terrorist militia Hamas, Ismail Hanija, will travel to Turkey this Saturday. He is scheduled to meet there for talks with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The Turkish leader is considered a major critic of Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu - he is endangering his own compatriots and the people of the entire region in order to ensure his political survival, according to Erdogan.
Iran doesn't want to know anything about Israel's attack
Update from April 19th, 10:35 p.m.:
Iran rejected the US statement about the nightly explosions in the Isfahan region, according to which it was an Israeli retaliatory action. “The information from the US media is incorrect,” said Iranian space agency spokesman Hossein Dalirian on the online service Instead, it was a “failed and humiliating attempt” to fly drones over the region, which were successfully shot down.
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said the Israeli “mini-drones” caused no damage. He spoke of a “desperate attempt to turn their repeated defeats into a victory.” Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi did not comment on the overnight explosions during a speech on Friday, only mentioning Iran's direct major attack on Israel last weekend.
Israel's retaliation against Iran apparently came with missiles
Update from April 19, 7:50 p.m.:
Apparently the Israeli counterattack in Isfahan, Iran, was not carried out with drones, but with long-range missiles fired from fighter jets. A US official reported this to
ABC News
. The planes fired the missiles outside Iranian airspace. The target: The radar system of the air defense systems that protect the Natanz nuclear reactor. According to initial estimates, the radar system was completely destroyed, the US official said. At the same time, the US broadcaster CNN reported, citing satellite photos, that no major damage could be seen at the air base in Isfahan.
Update from April 19, 5:10 p.m.:
The EU has imposed sanctions on a total of four “extremist” Israeli settlers and two militant settler groups, reported the
AFP
. The reason is violence against Palestinians in the West Bank. The accused were “responsible for serious human rights violations against Palestinians,” it was said in Brussels on Friday (April 19).
The settlers are accused of “torture and other brutal, inhumane or degrading treatment,” as well as “violating the right to property and to private and family life of Palestinians in the West Bank.” The sanctions should include entry bans and account freezing against the organizations Lehava and Hilltop Youth, as well as their founders and two other settlers.
Iran does not want to respond directly to Israeli attacks
Update from April 19, 4:15 p.m.:
On Friday (April 19), a senior Iranian official reportedly announced that Iran does not intend to respond immediately to the Israeli attack on Isfahan. This was reported by the
Times of Israel
. Israeli officials also said the attack was intended as a warning to Iran rather than causing significant damage.
There are also doubts in Iran as to whether Israel was actually behind the attack, although Israeli politicians have already confirmed this. An anonymous Iranian source said: “The foreign source of the incident has not been confirmed.”
Update from April 19th, 2:25 p.m.:
China apparently wants to take a “constructive role in de-escalation” in the Middle East. As Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian announced in Beijing on Friday, China rejects “any measures that further exacerbate tensions.” The Chinese embassy in the national capital Tehran is urging Chinese citizens and companies in Iran to be careful, AFP
reported
. Since the security situation in Iran is changing “rapidly,” those affected should “take precautions regarding security risks, closely monitor the development of the situation and ensure their own safety.”
Israel attack in Iran: Now it's about “de-escalation” in the Middle East conflict
Update from April 19th, 1:08 p.m.:
The seven major western industrialized nations (G7) have warned of an expansion of the conflict in the Middle East after Israel's alleged attack on Iran. At the end of the meeting of foreign ministers in Capri on Friday, Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani called on "all sides to avoid escalation" on behalf of the Group of Seven. Now it’s about “de-escalation”. At the same time, he condemned the massive Iranian attack on Israel last weekend. “We call on all parties to make a positive contribution,” said Tajani, adding: “We condemned Iran’s recent attack. The G7 supports Israel’s security, but we call on all parties to avoid escalation.”
The G7 ministers also adopted a joint declaration on this. With a view to efforts to de-escalate the situation, it says that “all parties in the region and beyond are called upon to make their positive contribution to this joint effort.” Iran is called on to end its support for the Islamist Hamas . In addition, Tehran should refrain from actions that destabilized the Middle East, “including supporting the Lebanese Hezbollah and other non-state actors.”
Scholz warns of further escalation in the Iran-Israel conflict
Update from April 19th, 12:22 p.m.:
After Israel's alleged attack on Iran, Chancellor Olaf Scholz once again warned of an escalation in the Middle East. “Everyone must ensure now and in the near future that there is no further escalation of the war,” he said on Friday at an SPD conference on the North Sea island of Norderney. Germany represents this position together with its allies. However, Scholz did not comment specifically on the reports of the alleged attack. He simply said that there had been “military activity again” on Friday night.
Update from April 19, 11:20 a.m.:
After the alleged Israeli attack in Iran, the incident is to be investigated. Experts were investigating the dimensions of the attack and would present a report, the commander-in-chief of the regular armed forces, Abdolrahim Mousavi, said on Friday, according to the state news agency
Irna
. He reiterated the military's statements that the explosions that night were due to air defense.
Israel attack in Iran: No damage to nuclear facility
Update from April 19, 10:38 a.m.:
After reports of Israel's attack on Iran, the International Atomic Energy Agency has given the all-clear. No Iranian nuclear facilities were damaged, the organization reported in Vienna on Friday. IAEA chief Rafael Grossi continues to “call on everyone to exercise extreme restraint,” said a statement on X (formerly Twitter). Nuclear facilities should never be targets in military conflicts, he emphasized.
Escalation in the Middle East: Israel's retaliatory strike on Iran causes speculation
Update from April 19th, 8:43 a.m
.: The retaliatory strike by Israel's army on Iran is causing speculation: After the attack on an air base near Isfahan, the regime in Tehran complained about an Israeli drone attack that was allegedly controlled from Iran should. A mini drone shot down by air defense was flown by “invaders from inside Iran,” the
Times of Israel
quoted a military analyst from Iranian state television as saying. There was no confirmation of the statement, which cannot be independently verified. However, Israel indirectly rejected such reports.
Air raid
on
Isfahan
First report
: First the major attack from Iran on Israel, now the counterattack: According to consistent US media reports, the Israeli army has launched a retaliatory operation for the Iranian military action last weekend. Accordingly, Israel carried out a military operation in Iran on Friday night (April 19). One or more Israeli missiles have attacked a target in Iran. There were initially no reports of damage.
Iran-Israel War: What currently happened in the attack on Isfahan?
As the
Jerusalem Post
reports, rockets from a long-range bomber are said to have been fired at the Iranian air base in Isfahan. Two Israeli officials from the Defense Ministry confirmed this to the paper. Overall, it was an attack in the Iran-Israel war on a limited scale, it said.
Iran-Israel conflict: Battle for sovereignty of interpretation has begun
Iran's state media rejected the reports of missile attacks. The state news agency
Irna
reported on Friday morning
that it was not a widespread attack .
“A few hours ago, several small flying objects were spotted and hit in the sky of Isfahan,” a reporter said on a live broadcast on state television. Air traffic has resumed. At the same time, the Iranian government rejected reports that the country's Security Council had met for an emergency meeting.
With the military action, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded to a military strike by Iran. The mullahs' regime attacked Israel directly for the first time at the weekend with more than 300 rockets and drones. The background to the Iranian missile and drone attacks was a suspected Israeli-led attack on the Iranian embassy compound in the Syrian capital Damascus, in which two generals of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard were killed at the beginning of April.
Role of the USA in the Middle East War
Fox News
reported, citing a military source, that it was a “limited attack.” The USA was not involved and the Israelis informed the US government in advance.
CNN
reported, citing two sources, that the US government did not give a "green light" for the attack.
CNN
also said
that nuclear facilities in Iran were not the target of the attacks. Military experts said Israel demonstrated that Iran's air defenses are no match for Israel's. Military expert Mark MacCarley said: “The Israelis had to retaliate, but that retaliation also carried a message: Yes, we can do it. Don't do that again. If you do it again, chaos will ensue.”
Consequences of Israel's attack on Isfahan: Iran's nuclear facilities remain undamaged
Isfahan is also home to important facilities for the Iranian defense industry. The country's largest nuclear research center is also located in the cultural city. According to the radio, there was no danger to the nuclear facilities there.
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