USA News Hub

Iran appears to be downplaying a strike that was reportedly carried out by Israel early Friday in response to the Iranian attack last weekend which has fueled mounting concern over a wider regional conflict.

Iranian media and officials described a small number of explosions that resulted from Iran’s air defenses hitting three drones over the city of Isfahan, where a military base and nuclear facilities are located, according to Reuters. Iranian media did not blame Israel and instead said the attack was carried out by “infiltrators.”

The extent of the damage was unclear, but no damage was reported at Iran’s nuclear sites, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency, the U.N.’s nuclear watchdog.

The Israeli military, officials and politicians have not directly commented on the incident. National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, a hardliner, wrote “Feeble!” on social media platform X. Tally Gotliv, a member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party, wrote on X, “Good morning dear people of Israel, a morning in which the head is held high with pride. Israel is a strong and powerful country.”

For days, Israel has said it would retaliate against Iran following the weekend attack in which over 300 drones and missiles were fired at the country from Iran and were mostly intercepted by Israel, the U.S. and other regional and Western allies. Iran’s attack was a response to a reported Israeli airstrike on an Iranian embassy compound in Syria that killed multiple officers, including a top commander.

Developments:

∎ Iran has reopened airports and airspace that were quickly shut down following the heard explosions in Isfahan, Reuters reported.

US received ‘last minute’ notice about drones from Israel, Italian diplomat says

Antonio Tajani, Italy’s foreign minister, said at a meeting on Friday that the United States had received “last minute” information about the drones from Israel, the Associated Press reported.

According to the outlet, Tajani, who chaired a G-7 meeting on Friday, said the United States told the Group of Seven foreign ministers that “there was no sharing of the attack by the U.S. It was a mere information.” G7 is a forum of advanced economies that includes the U.S., Japan, Germany, Britain, France, Canada and Italy.

Story continues

Secretary of State Antony Blinken did not say whether the U.S. was told about the strike but said, “We were not involved in any offensive operations,” according to the Associated Press.

Foreign ministers urge restraint, condemn Israel

Following the early morning incident in Isfahan, multiple foreign ministers and a European Union official urged restraint following the reported drone action.

“It is absolutely necessary that the region remains stable and that all sides restrain from further action,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said.

Turkey’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement on Friday that the tensions between Israel and Iran following the apparent Israeli strike on the embassy compound in Damascus “risk turning into a permanent conflict,” adding: “We call on all parties to refrain from steps that could lead to a wider conflict.”

The Oman Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it’s “following the continuing tension in the region” and it “condemns the Israeli attack this morning on Isfahan in the Islamic Republic of Iran,” a statement on X said.

Contributing: Reuters

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Israel war live updates: Iran downplays attack; Israel remains silent