Israel, Iran play down apparent Israeli strike
Israel and Iran on Friday both played down an apparent Israeli airstrike near a major air base and nuclear site in central I ran, signaling t he two bitter enemies are ready to prevent their latest eruption of violence from escalating into a full- blown regional war.
But the indecisive outcome of weeks of tensions — which included an alleged Israeli strike that killed two Iranian generals, an unprecedented Iranian missile barrage on Israel and the apparent Israeli strike early Friday in the heart of Iran — did little to resolve the deeper grievances between the foes.
“It appears we’re closer than ever to a broad regional war, despite the fact that the international community will most likely make a great effort to deescalate tensions,” wrote Amos Harel, the military- affairs commentator f or t he I sraeli d aily Haaretz.
Israel h as l ong considered Iran t o be i ts g reatest enemy — citing the Islamic Republic’s calls for Israel’s destruction, its controversial nuclear program and its support for hostile proxies across the Middle East.
These tensions h ave risen since Hamas and Islamic Jihad, I ranian- backed Palestinian groups, attacked Israel on Oct. 7, sparking a devastating Israeli offensive i n Gaza t hat has continued for more than six months. Hezbollah, an Iranianbacked proxy in Lebanon, immediately began striking Israeli targets, opening up tit- for- tat fighting a long a second f ront, while Iranian- backed militias in Iraq, Syria and Yemen a lso have fired missiles and drones at Israel throughout the war.
While Israel a nd I ran have waged a shadow war for years, mostly i n neighboring Syria, they largely have avoided direct confrontations. That c hanged after an April 1 airstrike killed two Iranian generals at an Iranian diplomatic compound i n the Syrian capital of Damascus. Although I srael did not comment, Iran b lamed Israel f or the strike and vowed revenge.
Iran responded with its firstever direct attack on Israel, launching more than 300 missiles and attack drones late last Saturday night. Israel, working with a U. S.- led international coalition, said it intercepted 99% of the incoming fire, although a handful of missiles managed to land, causing minor damage to an Israeli military base and seriously wounding a young girl.
In F riday’s attack, Iranian state television s aid that air defense batteries fired in s everal provinces over reports of drones in the air. Iranian army commander Gen. Abdolrahim Mousavi said c rews t argeted several flying objects.
“The explosion this morning in the sky of Isfahan was related to the shooting of a ir defense systems at a suspicious object that did not cause any damage,” Mousavi said.
Authorities said air defenses fired at a major air base near Isfahan, which long has been home t o Iran’s fleet of Americanmade F- 14 Tomcats — purchased before the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
Isfahan also is home to sites associated with Iran’s nuclear program, including i ts underground Natanz enrichment site, which repeatedly has been targeted by suspected Israeli sabotage attacks. The apparent attack F riday came o n Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s 85th birthday.
State television described all
Iranian atomic sites in the areas as “fully safe.” The United Nations’ nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic E nergy Agency, also said there was “no damage” to Iran’s nuclear sites.
Iranian officials made n o mention of possible Israeli involvement. T hat could be i ntentional, particularly after Iranian officials for days have been threatening to respond to any Israeli retaliatory attack.
Israel also had no comment on t he a pparent attack, although o ne h ard- line g overnment minister, Itamar Ben- Gvir, hinted a t his dissatisfaction, with a o ne- word tweet early Friday, using a slang word for weak or lame.
But Italy’s foreign minister, Antonio Tajani, said the U. S. received “last- minute” i nformation f rom Israel a bout t he a ttack. U. S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken did not dispute that, but said: “We were not involved in any offensive operations.”
Yoel Guzansky, a former Iran expert in the Israeli prime minister’s office, said Israel appears to have carried out the attack to “check off a box” by sending a message to Iran without doing anything too provocative that could upset the United States.