Iran shoots down several drones, US officials suspect Israel: 10 points

Mangalore Today News Network / NDTV

New Delhi, April 19, 2024: Iran activated its air-defence system today morning amid reports of missile and drone strikes by Israel. Israel fired missile at an Iran airport, ABC News reported citing a US official. Local media said that a loud explosion was heard is Isfahan.

Here are 10 facts about the big story:

1. Israel launched a strike against Iran in retaliation for its weekend attack, US media reported.

2. Iran activated its air defense system over several cities, state media reported, after the country’s official broadcaster said explosions were heard near the central city of Isfahan.

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

4. Though some media reports said that missiles had been fired, Iran said that they have shot down several drones but there had been "no missile attack for now".

5. Several drones "have been successfully shot down by the country’s air defence, there are no reports of a missile attack for now," Iran’s space agency spokesman Hossein Dalirian said on X.

6. Israel military says ’don’t have comment at this time’ after reports of blasts in Iran, reports AFP.

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

8. 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.

9. Israel had warned it would hit back after Iran fired hundreds of missiles and drones at Israel over the weekend. Most of them were intercepted.

10. That strike came in the wake of an attack on Iran’s consulate in Damascus widely blamed on Israel.