New details about Israeli attack on Iran
The White House declined to comment on the attacks on Iran’s Isfahan, with Tehran downplaying their impact without directly accusing Israel of being behind them.
On Friday, White House press secretary Karin Jean-Pierre stated that Washington had no comment on reports of such attacks. “We do not want to escalate conflict in the Middle East, and we will continue to carefully monitor oil and energy markets.”
Sources confirmed the targeting of three Israeli F-35 aircraft by a radar defense system tasked with protecting the Natanz uranium enrichment facility in Isfahan, 440 Km (270 miles) south of Tehran.
In addition, a senior US official confirmed to ABC News the launching of three missiles from Israeli fighter jets outside of Iran in an “extremely limited” strike on Friday morning.
Exclusive satellite images obtained by CNN from Umbra Space suggest no widespread damage at an airbase purportedly targeted by an Israeli strike.
The The New York Times, citing Western and Iranian officials that the Israeli weapons hit the S-300 anti-aircraft system at a base in Isfahan.
The Israeli strike is a message to Iran that Israel is capable of bypassing Iranian defenses , New York Times added.
Images captured by the Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) satellite at around 10:18 a.m. local time indicate no significant craters in the ground and no destroyed structures.
The images also reveal that Iranian F-14 Tomcat aircraft previously stationed at the airbase are currently absent and were not present for some time before the strike.
Israel launched an attack on Iran early Friday, reportedly in response to a previous Iranian attack with dozens of drones and missiles the previous Saturday. Explosions were heard at a base belonging to the Iranian army, northwest of Isfahan, on the morning of Friday, April 19, according to the Iran International channel.
An Iranian official said there was no missile attack, and the explosions were the result of the activation of Iran’s air defense systems against three drones.
The mutual attack between Iran and Israel followed an Israeli airstrike on the Iranian embassy compound in Damascus on April 1, resulting in the deaths of Revolutionary Guard officials.
Israel did not claim responsibility for Isfahan’s targeting.