WASHINGTON: The United States has received advance notice of Israel’s reported attack on Iranian city Isfahan but did not endorse the operation or play any part in its implementation, US media cited officials as saying.
CNN and NBC quoting sources familiar with the matter and a US official, respectively, stated Israel had provided the US with pre-notification of the attack.
Earlier, Israel launched a missile strike against a site in Iran, US broadcaster ABC News claimed on Friday. Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency also reported blasts in Isfahan with official TV reporting flights in several cities have been postponed.
Washington had Advance Warning of Israel Strike on Isfahan: US Media
On the other hand, Iranian officials said they shot down several drones and that there had been “no missile strike for now” on Iran, after blasts were heard near Isfahan.
Iran’s space agency spokesperson Hossein Dalirian said in a statement via social media that several drones “have been shot down by the nation’s air defence, there are no reports of a missile strike for now,”
Iran suspended flights in several areas including at Tehran, Shiraz and Isfahan airports, Iranian Airports and Air Navigation Company said. Iranian media reported that Air defence missiles have been activated after Israeli strike.
Following Iran’s barrages of drones, Israeli authorities did not say when or where they would attack, but Benjamin Netanyahu said they reserve the right to protect itself.
Israel has warned it would hit back following Iran fired hundreds of drones and missiles at its arch rival over the weekend. That attack came in the wake of an assault on Iran’s consulate in Damascus, Syria.
