The Middle East is in turmoil after the attack on Iran. Here’s what we know

The Middle East is in turmoil after the attack on Iran. Here’s what we know

Israel has launched an attack inside Iran, a US official told CNN on Friday, in a move that threatens to further escalate the conflict in the Middle East.

Iran’s air defense system was activated in several locations after explosions were heard near an airport and military base in Isfahan province, state media reported early Friday morning.

Israel has not claimed responsibility for the attack.

Here’s what we know:

• What Iran reported: Three explosions were heard near a military base where fighter jets are located northwest of Isfahan, Iran’s semi-official FARS news agency reported. Following the strike, Iranian media reported that all facilities around Isfahan were safe, including important nuclear facilities in the area. A spokesman for Iran’s National Cyberspace Center, Hossein Dalirian, said air defenses shot down three drones and “there are no reports of missile attacks at this time.”
• What is the target? That remains unclear, but US officials told CNN the target of the attack was not nuclear. According to FARS, the military radar may have been the target. Ghahjaworstan, where the blast was heard, is near Isfahan Airport and “the site of the Eighth Air Force manhunt,” FARS reported.
• How did we get here? Tensions remain high across the Middle East as Israel launches a war in Gaza against the Palestinian militant group Hamas, an ally of Iran. Meanwhile, the decades-long shadow conflict between Israel and Iran erupted into the open over the weekend when Iran launched an unprecedented attack on Israel that Tehran said was in retaliation for a suspected deadly Israeli airstrike on the Iranian consulate in Syria.
• What Israel said: The Israeli military said on Friday it had “no comment at this time” when asked by CNN about reports of explosions in Iran. Israel’s war cabinet has been meeting regularly this week without announcing any final action following Iran’s attack on Israel last weekend.
• What the US says: Israel’s allies, including the United States, have called for sanctions from Israel in an effort to prevent a regional war. The US “has not given the green light” to Israel’s response, another senior US official told CNN. Before Friday’s attack, the US expectation was that Israel would not target civilian or nuclear facilities, the second official said.
• What happens next? That too is still unclear. Reports of the explosion came hours after Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian told CNN that if Israel takes any further military action against Iran, its response will be “immediate and at the maximum level.” He added: “If the Israeli regime makes a big mistake again, our response will be firm, final and regret them.”