Live: Israeli missiles hit site in Iran, reports say

Israeli missiles have hit a site in Iran, ABC News reported, citing a US official, while Iranian state media reported an explosion in the centre of the country, days after Iran launched a retaliatory drone strike on Israel.

Reuters could not immediately confirm the reports.

Iran’s Fars news agency said an explosion was heard at an airport in the central city of Isfahan but the cause was not immediately known. Iran had suspended flights over the cities of Isfahan, Shiraz and Tehran, state media reported, but restrictions on several airports were lifted about two hours later.

Iranian officials told Reuters the explosion heard in Isfahan was a result of the activation of Iran’s air defence system. Officials say there has not been a missile attack on Iran.

Several Iranian nuclear sites are located in Isfahan province, including Natanz, centrepiece of Iran’s uranium enrichment program.

Tehran’s Imam Khomeini International Airport was closed to all flights until 0700 GMT, according to a notice to airmen posted on a US Federal Aviation Administration database.

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Some Emirates and Flydubai flights that were flying over Iran early on Friday made sudden sharp turns away from the airspace, according to flight paths shown on tracking website Flightradar24.

Israel had said it would retaliate against Iran’s weekend attack, which involved hundreds of drones and missiles in retaliation for a suspected Israeli strike on its embassy compound in Syria. Most of the Iranian drones and missiles were downed before reaching Israeli territory.

Analysts and observers have been raising concerns about the risks of the Israel-Gaza war spreading into the rest of the region.

Iran told the United Nations Security Council on Thursday that Israel “must be compelled to stop any further military adventurism against our interests” as the UN secretary-general warned that the Middle East was in a “moment of maximum peril”.

Oil prices and jumped on the reports of the Israeli strike. Brent crude futures rose 2 percent to $88.86 a barrel, the dollar gained broadly, gold rose 1 percent and S&P 500 futures dropped 1 percent.

Israel’s assault on Gaza began after Palestinian Islamist group Hamas attacked Israel on 7 October, killing 1200, according to Israeli tallies. Israel’s military offensive has killed over 33,000 Palestinians in Gaza, according to the local health ministry.

Iran-backed groups have declared support for Palestinians, launching attacks from Lebanon, Yemen and Iraq.

– Reuters