Responses muted as Israel strikes

JERUSALEM: Israeli media cited foreign reports of an Israeli attack on Iran last night in the absence of official public comment, while Iranian television reports played down the attack — many not even mentioning the ‘‘Zionist entity’’, Iran’s term for Israel.

The strike in the central city of Isfahan earlier yesterday appears to have caused no significant damage and the muted way the story was told in both nations pointed to a determination, at least for now, not to further escalate their conflict.

In an interview with state TV, a resident of Isfahan described the explosions in the early hours of the local morning as ‘‘nothing more than fire crackers’’.

The Israeli military and foreign ministries declined comment and there were no immediate public statements from senior politicians apart from hardline security minister Itamar Ben Gvir, who sent out the oneword message ‘‘Feeble!’’ on social media platform X.

Israeli media cited reports from The New York Times and The

Washington Post, which quoted unnamed Israeli officials as confirming Israel was behind the attack, but did not report official confirmation of their own.

Israel has a long tradition of maintaining ambiguity over issues like nuclear weapons and intelligence operations and the silence appeared to be part of its messaging.

Writing for Israel’s biggest newspaper, Yedioth Ahronoth, before the attack took place, a columnist said an official had said Israel planned a ‘‘pinpoint operation’’.

He quoted a Bible story in which the future King David crept up on a sleeping enemy and cut a piece of cloth from his clothing as proof that he could have struck a deadly blow but chose not to.

International Institute for Strategic Studies senior fellow Hasan Alhasan said Israel was sending a message.

‘‘I think it is ultimately a cautionary message that Israel can respond and can get through to Iran if it wants, but it does not want to widen the scope of this conflict right now.’’

Iran’s thoughts were spelt out most clearly by a senior Iranian official who said Teheran did not plan a response now.

Iranian media appeared to play down the significance of the strike. In official statements, there was almost no mention that Israel — or as it usually says the ‘‘Zionist entity’’ — was behind it.

State television carried analysts who all appeared be dismissive about the scale.

‘‘There has been a remarkable fabrication to exaggerate the extent of the incident’’ the semiofficial ISNA news agency said.

The apparent attack was the latest in a round of actions set off by the killing of seven Iranian officers in a strike on an embassy compound in Damascus that has drawn fears of a wider regional conflict spilling over from the war in Gaza. — Reuters