Iran denied this Friday April 19 that a missile attack had occurred and assured that the air defenses shot down several dronesamid tensions over possible Israeli retaliation to Iran.
“So far no large-scale impact or explosion caused by any aerial threat has been reported,” state agency IRNA said.
An Israeli expert on Iranian affairs at Tel Aviv University, David Menashriconsiders that if the retaliation of Israel against Iran is limited to the attack that occurred early Friday morning, he does not believe it is likely that Tehran will respond, because its authorities are not seeking a direct confrontation, which would drag the United States and other Western powers.
“If he israeli attack “It is all we have seen today, Iran can live with it,” he said. Menashri In an interview. For the analyst Alliance Center for Iranian StudiesProof of this is that Iran is avoiding accusing Israel, and television is showing images of Isfahanwhere the attack took place, to convey that life “is going smoothly as always” and to downplay the importance of the attack.
Iranian state television provided similar information and showed images of apparent normality in the city of Isfahan, where they heard sounds of “loud explosions” hours before.
The Iranian Space Agency also denied a missile attack, contrary to information from the United States that claimed that Israel had launched projectiles into Iranian soil.
“There are no reports of a missile attack for now,” the spokesman said. Iranian Space AgencyHossein Dalirian, on his X social network account.
The source indicated that the country’s air defenses have shot down “three microdrones.”
Earlier, Iranian state television reported the sound of “loud explosions” in the central province of Isfahan, which is home to missile production centers and nuclear facilities. In addition, there was talk of “three explosions” near the air base of Shekari, in the north of Isfahan.
While the state agency IRNA reported that air defenses have been activated in “several provinces” after “loud explosions” were heard in the center of the country.
Nuclear facilities are safe, says Iran
nuclear facilities Iranians They are “completely safe,” indicated the Tasnim agency, linked to the Revolutionary Guard, the body in charge of the security of the country’s atomic centers.
Amid confusion over what is happening, aviation authorities suspended flights in at least three cities in the country, including Tehran and its international airport.
In the United States, a senior official told the ABC network that Israel launched several missiles against Iran in the early hours of Friday.
This aggression would be a retaliation for the attack with hundreds of missiles and drones last Saturday by Iran against Israel, which in turn was a response to the bombing of the Iranian consulate in Damascus, in which seven members of the Revolutionary Guard.
Israel has stated that they will respond to the Iranian attack, to which Tehran has raised the tone of its warnings and has in turn assured that it will take measures against a possible Israeli retaliation.
Iran warned yesterday that it could review its “nuclear doctrine” -which until now dictated an exclusively civil use of this energy- if Israel threatens to attack its atomic centers.
