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Israel hits Iran LIVE: Latest updates as strikes reported in city that hosts nuclear programme and flights are diverted after Netanyahu ignored Biden's plea for calm

7 months ago 45

By Lettice Bromovsky

Published: 06:40 BST, 19 April 2024 | Updated: 06:55 BST, 19 April 2024

What a war between Israel and Iran would look like

Iran threatened to use 'weapons it has never used' if Israel struck, and Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian also cautioned that Iran would strike back at the 'maximum level' if Israel fired.

'In case the Israeli regime embarks on adventurism again and takes action against the interests of Iran, the next response from us will be immediate and at a maximum level,' Amir-Abdollahian told CNN.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ignored pleas from President Biden

Biden had warned Israel not to retaliate to Saturday's strikes and urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to 'take the win' of the foiled Iranian attack.

Israeli officials warned the Biden administration of its intent to strike before launching in previous days, but an official told CNN that the US did not 'green light' any Israeli response.

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke with his Israeli counterpart Yoav Gallant on Thursday afternoon, but a senior source declined to confirm to the New York Times if Gallant warned about the strikes that hit hours after the meeting.

Israeli military officials have reportedly stressed that today's strikes were a 'limited response' to Iran's attack, appearing to target military hubs used by Iran in their onslaught on Saturday.

Airlines scramble to change routes after Israeli attack on Iran

Iran closed its airports in Tehran, Shiraz and Isfahan after the attack and cleared flights from the western portion of its airspace for a few hours after the attack, according to flight tracking website FlightRadar24.

By 0445 GMT the airports and airspace had reopened, and closure notices posted on a U.S. Federal Aviation Administration database had been removed.

Before the airports reopened, Flydubai said it had cancelled its Friday flights to Iran. One of its earlier flights turned back to Dubai, it said.

An Iran Air flight from Rome to Tehran was diverted to Ankara, Turkey, Flightradar 24 showed.

Emirates, Flydubai, Turkish Air, Wizz Air Abu Dhabi and Belavia were among the carriers continuing to fly over the part of Iran's airspace that remained open in the initial hours after the attack early on Friday, the tracking website showed.

'We are monitoring the situation closely and will make changes to our flight paths in consultation with the relevant authorities,' Flydubai said in a statement.

MAP - ISRAEL ATTACK ON IRAN also view of Nuclear sites - Missile site locations

Explosions rock airbase in city linked to Tehran's nuke program

Iran downplays damage to its military facilities

Iran sought to downplay any significant damage to its military facilities and outright denied any nuclear plants were destroyed, claiming that 'so far, no large-scale strikes or explosions by any air threat have been reported.'

Reports citing senior US military sources contradicted this and claimed that targets were hit. No official comment has been released by either Israel, Iran or the US.

TOPSHOT - Emergency and security personnel extinguish a fire at the site of strikes which hit a building annexed to the Iranian embassy in Syria's capital Damascus, on April 1, 2024. Syrian state media said Israeli strikes hit an Iranian consular annex in the capital on April 1, while a war monitor reported eight people were killed and Iranian state media said a senior commander of the powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps was among the dead, amid rising regional tensions due to the Gaza war. (Photo by LOUAI BESHARA / AFP) (Photo by LOUAI BESHARA/AFP via Getty Images)

Israel strikes back at Iran

Israel has conducted strikes on a target in Iran, defying President Joe Biden's warnings over plunging the Middle East further into conflict.

US officials confirmed strikes hit a site in Iran, however it is unclear what exact target was hit or the extent of the damage.

Officials say the city of Isfahan in central Iran was struck at 5am local time. The city hosts one of Iran's nuclear facilities, although US military sources reportedly said the target was not believed to be nuclear.

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