An Iranian flag is pictured near a missile during a military exercise involving Iran’s air defense units, Iran, October 19, 2020.
WANA News Agency| Reuters
Israel launched a limited direct military attack on Iranian soil early Friday morning, marking the latest escalation in a series of back-and-forth strikes between the two foes, a source familiar with the situation told NBC News.
Reuters reported that Iranian state media reported explosions in the central Iranian city of Isfahan, but officials in the country said they were caused by air defenses shooting down drones. Israel has not commented on the events.
The news comes days after Iran launched its first direct attack on Israel in the form of more than 300 drones and missiles, most of which were intercepted by Israeli air defenses and caused no casualties.
Tehran said the attack was in retaliation for an Israeli attack on an Iranian diplomatic compound on April 1 that killed two senior Iranian generals, among others.
What comes next may now depend on Iran’s response and whether diplomatic measures are taken by external parties to de-escalate. Markets reacted to the news, with oil prices rising more than 3% on fears that what had previously been a shadow was emerging as a proxy war.
Safe-haven assets also gained, with spot gold prices rising to a new all-time high of $2,411.09 an ounce, while Dow Jones Industrial Average futures slipped 280 points, or 0.76%. S&P 500 futures fell 0.88% and Nasdaq 100 futures fell 0.98%.
Flights to Tehran, Isfahan and Shiraz airports were suspended, Iran’s Fars news agency reported. Several flights over Iranian airspace were diverted early Friday, aviation tracking website Flight Radar 24 showed.
—CNBC’s Ying Shan contributed to this report.
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2024-04-19 08:28:25
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