Iran-Israel Tensions: Tehran Fires Air Defence Batteries After Explosions in Isfahan

Jerusalem: Amig heightening tensions in the Middle East, Iran fired air defence batteries early Friday morning at a major air base and a nuclear site near its central city of Isfahan over drones being spotted, raising fears of a possible Israeli retaliatory strike following Tehran's unprecedented drone-and-missile assault on the country.

It was unclear if the country was under attack, as no Iranian official directly acknowledged the possibility and Israel's military did not respond to a request for comment. However, tensions have remained high in the days since the Saturday assault on Israel amid its war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip and its own strikes targeting Iran in Syria.

State television reported air defences fired in several provinces over reports of drones being in the air.

The facility at Isfahan operates three small Chinese-supplied research reactors, as well as handles fuel production and other activities for Iran's civilian nuclear program.

Several flights including the Dubai-based carriers Emirates and FlyDubai began diverting around western Iran about 4:30 am local time. They did not explain, though local warnings to aviators suggested the airspace may have been closed.

Iran later announced it grounded commercial flights in Tehran and across areas of its western and central regions. Loudspeakers informed customers of the incident at Imam Khomeini International Airport in Tehran, online videos purported to show.

Iranian state television began a scrolling, on-screen alert acknowledging a “loud noise” near Isfahan, without immediately elaborating.

Hossein Dalirian, a spokesperson for Iran's civilian space program, said on the X social media platform that several small “quadcopter” drones had been shot down. A state television reporter in Isfahan said the same in a live report, saying “Several small drones were flying in the sky over Isfahan, which were fired at.” Meanwhile in Iraq, where several Iranian-backed militias are based, residents of Baghdad reported hearing sounds of explosions, but the source of the noise was not immediately clear. 

(Inputs from AP. Except for the headline, Republic has not edited the content)