Israel strikes site in Iran in retaliation for weekend assault: source

Israel carried out limited strikes in Iran early Friday in retaliation for Tehran firing a barrage of missiles and drones at Israel last Saturday.

A well-placed military source has told Fox News that the strike was ‘limited.’ Sources familiar said the U.S. was not involved and there was pre-notification to the U.S. from the Israelis.

Fox News confirmed there have been explosions in Iran’s Isfahan province, which is where Natanz, one of Iran’s nuclear facilities, is located. 

Though it was initially unclear if the facility was hit, state television described all sites in the area as ‘fully safe’ and the International Atomic Energy Agency confirmed on X Friday morning that there is no damage.

Details surrounding the intended target of the strike – if there was one – were not immediately available, but Fox News was able to confirm the target was ‘not nuclear or civilian.’

As of early Friday morning, Pentagon officials have not confirmed the strike and the White House and the National Security Council (NSC) have declined to comment on the unfolding situation.

The semiofficial Fars news agency reported on the sound of explosions over Isfahan near its international airport. It offered no explanation for the blast. However, Isfahan is home to a major airbase for the Iranian military, as well as sites associated with its nuclear program.

A senior Iranian official allegedly told Reuters that Iran has no plans to immediately respond to the Israeli strike, which was described differently on Iranian state media. The explosions heard in Isfahan were allegedly a result of the country’s air defense systems activating and not a missile attack, the official told Reuters.

Former Israel Defense Forces spokesman Jonathan Conricus wrote on X while Iran appears to downplay the strike, he ‘think[s] they’ve gotten the message.’

Iran temporarily grounded commercial flights in Tehran and across areas of its western and central regions in response to the attack. Restrictions have since been lifted on flights to and from Khomeini and Mehrabad international airports in Tehran, according to Iranian news agency Tasnim.

Dubai-based carriers Emirates and FlyDubai began diverting around western Iran at 4:30 a.m. local time.

In a statement to Fox News Digital, FlyDubai said flight FZ 1929 from Dubai to Tehran on Friday morning returned to Dubai because the Imam Khomeini International Airport was closed. The airline also said all of its flights to Iran on Friday have been canceled.

‘The safety of our passengers and crew is our priority. We are monitoring the situation closely and will make changes to our flight paths in consultation with the relevant authorities,’ a FlyDubai spokesperson said. ‘We will share any further updates once more information becomes available.’

In response to Israel’s reported strike on Iran, the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem issued a security notice Friday morning ‘out of an abundance of caution’ restricting U.S. government employees and their family members from personal travel outside the greater Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and Be’er Sheva areas until further notice.

Iran attacked Israel over the weekend in retaliation for a deadly strike on Iran’s consulate in Syria earlier this month that killed a dozen people, including a top general. Israel has not publicly claimed responsibility for the attack.

The weekend attack by Iran marked a major escalation of violence. Despite decades of hostilities between the two nations, Iran has never directly attacked Israel, instead relying on proxy forces in Iraq, Lebanon and elsewhere. 

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.