By The Associated Press
Iran's state-run IRNA news agency reported that air defense batteries were fired on Friday after explosions were reported near a major airbase in Isfahan. It is uncertain if the country was under attack, but tensions remain high following Iran's unusual missile and drone attack on Israel. The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
IRNA mentioned that the defenses fired across several provinces without explaining what caused the activation, even though people in the area reported hearing the sounds.
Israel vowed to respond to Iran’s unusual weekend attack, leaving the region prepared for possible further escalation after months of fighting in Gaza. Allies have urged Israel to hold back on any response to the attack that could spiral.
The U.S. on Thursday vetoed a widely backed U.N. resolution that would have paved the way for full United Nations membership for a state of Palestine. The vote in the 15-member Security Council was 12 in favor, the United States opposed and two abstentions.
Separately, the U.S. and Britain announced that they were imposing a new round of sanctions on Iran. The moves came as European Union leaders meeting in Brussels vowed to ramp up sanctions on Iran to target its drone and missile deliveries to proxies in Gaza, Yemen and Lebanon.
The U.S. sanctions target individuals and entities that produce engines that power drones and are involved in steel production. The latest British measures target several Iranian military organizations, individuals and entities involved in Iran’s drone and ballistic missile industries.
The Iranian attack on Saturday marked the first time that Tehran launched a direct military assault on Israel. Israeli authorities said Iran launched more than 300 drones and missiles, 99% of which were intercepted by air defenses in tandem with the U.S., Britain, France and Jordan. The attack took place less than two weeks after a suspected Israeli strike in Syria killed two Iranian generals in an Iranian consulate building in Damascus.
Regional tensions have increased since the start of the latest Israel-Hamas war on Oct. 7, when Hamas and Islamic Jihad — two militant groups backed by Iran — carried out a cross-border attack that killed 1,200 people in Israel and kidnapped 250 others. Israel responded with an offensive in Gaza that has caused widespread devastation and killed more than 33,900 people, according to local health officials.
Currently:
— Iran fires air defense batteries in provinces as explosions heard near Isfahan
— US and UK issue new sanctions on Iran in response to Tehran’s weekend attack on Israel.
— NATO and the EU urge G7 nations to step up air defense for Ukraine and expand Iran sanctions.
— US Congress moving swiftly on bipartisan action to punish Iran after revenge attack on Israel.
— Palestinian soccer renews call for sanctions against Israel at FIFA congress amid Hamas conflict.
Here is the latest:
IRAN SAYS AIR DEFENSES FIRE AFTER REPORTS OF EXPLOSIONS NEAR MAJOR AIRBASE
Iran activated air defense weapons early Friday after hearing reports of explosions near a major airbase in Isfahan, as reported by the state-run IRNA news agency.
It was still uncertain if the country was under attack. However, tensions remain high following Iran’s unprecedented missile and drone strike on Israel. One government official suggested that sites might have been targeted by drones.
The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
IRNA stated that the defenses were fired across several provinces. It did not explain what caused the weapons to fire, although people in the area reported hearing the sounds.
In particular, IRNA mentioned that air defenses were fired at a major airbase in Isfahan, which has long been the home of Iran’s fleet of American-made F-14 Tomcats — purchased before the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
The semiofficial Fars and Tasnim news agencies also reported hearing blasts, without specifying a cause. State television acknowledged the presence of a “loud noise” in the area.
Isfahan is also home to sites connected to Iran’s nuclear program, including its underground Natanz enrichment site, which has been repeatedly targeted in suspected Israeli sabotage attacks. However, state television assured that all sites in the area are “completely secure.”
Airlines Emirates and FlyDubai, based in Dubai, began redirecting flights around western Iran around 4:30 a.m. local time. They did not offer an explanation, but local warnings to aviators suggested that the airspace may have been closed.
Iran later announced the grounding of commercial flights in Tehran and across areas of its western and central regions. Loudspeakers at Imam Khomeini International Airport in Tehran reportedly informed customers of the incident, according to online videos.
Meanwhile in Iraq, where a number of Iranian-backed militias are based, residents of Baghdad reported hearing sounds of explosions, but the source of the noise was not immediately clear.
US VETOES RESOLUTION BACKING FULL UN MEMBERSHIP FOR PALESTINE
UNITED NATIONS — The United States has vetoed a widely supported U.N. resolution that would have paved the way for full United Nations membership for a state of Palestine.
The vote in the 15-member Security Council was 12 in favor, the United States opposed and two abstentions.
The resolution would have recommended that the 193-member General Assembly approve Palestine becoming the 194th member of the United Nations. Some 140 countries have already recognized a state of Palestine, so its admission would have been approved. There are no vetoes in the General Assembly.
It was the second Palestinian attempt to become a full member of the United Nations. It came as the war in Gaza has put the more than 75-year-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict at center stage.
Palestinian membership “needs to be the outcome of the negotiation between Israel and the Palestinians,” U.S. deputy ambassador Robert Wood said. It “is something that would flow from the result of those negotiations.
IRAN SAYS IT WILL RESPOND TO ANY ISRAELI ATTACK
UNITED NATIONS – Iran’s foreign minister is again warning Israel that any use of force in response to his country’s recent drone and missile attacks will be “decisive” and “make the regime regret its actions.
Hossein Amirabdollahian stated at a U.N. Security Council meeting that Iran's attack on the weekend was a justified response to a suspected Israeli missile strike on its embassy in Syria on April 1. He emphasized that Israel should be forced to stop any further military actions against Iran's interests.
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel will respond with force.
Amirabdollahian cautioned that if Israel uses force and violates Iran's sovereignty, Iran will not hesitate to assert its rights and give a strong response to make Israel regret its actions.
Iran and its allies launched over 300 drones and missiles at Israel, but Israeli air defenses, assisted by the U.S., Britain, France, and Jordan, blocked 99% of them. A 7-year-old girl was injured, and an Israeli base sustained minor damage.
US REITERATES CONCERNS ABOUT MAJOR MILITARY ACTION IN RAFAH
WASHINGTON — Senior U.S. and Israeli officials have held a virtual meeting where Washington again “expressed concerns” about the possibility of a major offensive by Israel in the Gaza Strip city of Rafah amid its war with Hamas.
A report from Thursday’s meeting by U.S. and Israeli teams known as the Strategic Consultative Group said that Israeli participants agreed to consider these concerns and have further discussions between experts.
U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and others discussed Iran’s recent attack of Israel with drones and ballistic missiles. The U.S. detailed efforts to improve Israel's defense, including advanced capabilities and support from a coalition of international allies.
The Israeli side was led by Minister for Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer and National Security Advisor Tzachi Hanegbi.
The report stated that both sides “agreed on the shared objective to see Hamas defeated in Rafah.” However, the U.S. has long been concerned about the potential impact of a major Israeli military operation on Rafah’s civilian population.
PALESTINIAN PROFESSOR WHO SAID ISRAEL IS COMMITTING GENOCIDE IS ARRESTED
JERUSALEM — Israeli police have arrested a Palestinian professor for speech deemed incendiary after she said Israel is committing genocide in Gaza and rallied colleagues and students to support a cease-fire.
Police arrested Nadera Shalhoub-Kevorkian on Thursday at her home in the Old City of Jerusalem, said Hassan Jabareen, director of Adalah, a legal rights group, and part of a team representing her.
Shalhoub-Kevorkian is a law professor at Hebrew University whose work focuses on gender-based violence. The university suspended her in March after she circulated a petition calling for a cease-fire in Gaza and said in interviews that Israel was committing genocide against Palestinians.
“What she’s said is critical of the Israel government,” said Jabareen. “It does not constitute a crime.”
National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who oversees the national police force, issued a statement praising the police.
The person said that this arrest is an important message – anyone who encourages violence against Israel can't use their position or title to protect themselves.
GUTERRES REITERATES CALLS FOR DE-ESCALATION OF TENSIONS
UNITED NATIONS — The leader of the United Nations says the Middle East is on the edge of a crisis and is asking all countries to work together to prevent any actions that could start a conflict across the region.
The Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told a meeting of the U.N. Security Council on Thursday that at this very dangerous time, everyone needs to show extreme restraint.
He warned that just one mistake could cause a massive conflict that would be terrible for everyone involved, and for the rest of the world.
Guterres said the world has a shared responsibility to take significant diplomatic action to reduce violence and tensions in the Middle East, starting with Gaza.
GAZA HEALTH MINISTRY REPORTS 71 PEOPLE KILLED IN THE LAST 24 HOURS
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — The Health Ministry in the Gaza Strip says that 71 people were brought to hospitals in the past 24 hours.
It said Thursday that a total of at least 33,970 Palestinians have been killed since the Israel-Hamas war began over six months ago. The ministry does not separate civilians and fighters in its numbers but has said that most of the people killed are women and children.
Palestinian medical experts say that an Israeli airstrike overnight in the southern town of Rafah killed eight members of a family, including four children and three women, who had been displaced from northern Gaza.
More than half of Gaza’s 2.3 million inhabitants have taken refuge in Rafah, on the border with Egypt. Israel has promised to expand its ground attack to the city.
The Health Ministry says that people in Gaza City and other parts of the north are currently living without proper medical services. It says that northern Gaza needs field hospitals with 200 beds, operation rooms, intensive care units, and laboratories.
OFFICIALS AT G7 MEETING CALL FOR NEW SANCTIONS AGAINST IRAN
CAPRI, Italy — The Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani opened the first working session of the Group of Seven meeting in Italy by asking for new sanctions against Iran for its attack on Israel over the weekend.
The Israel-Hamas war and Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine were taking center stage at the meeting of foreign ministers from Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the United States. On Wednesday, EU leaders meeting in Brussels vowed to ramp up sanctions on Iran to target its drone and missile deliveries to proxies in Gaza, Yemen, and Lebanon.
The European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said at the G7 meeting that the existing EU sanctions regime would be strengthened and expanded to punish Tehran and help prevent future attacks on Israel. At the same time, he said, Israel needed to exercise restraint.
“I don’t want to exaggerate but we are on the edge of a war, a regional war in the Middle East, which will be sending shockwaves to the rest of the world, and in particular to Europe,” he warned. “So stop it.”
The family of a Nepali man who is being held by Hamas is asking for his release.
Family members of the Nepali man, who is still captive after the Oct. 7 attack in Israel, are urging for his release from Hamas militants.
Relatives of Bipin Joshi, 23, traveled from western Nepal to Kathmandu and made a public appeal on Thursday.
His father, Mahananda Joshi, said, "My life has been devastated since his kidnapping. He is my only son without whom I cannot even imagine living. I love my son more than my life."
He pleaded, "I beg of you to kindly bring my son back home safe and alive."
Joshi was abducted in the Oct. 7 attack that killed 10 Nepalis. Six others survived, but many were injured. They have returned to Nepal.
There has been no news of Joshi since he was taken captive. Nepal’s government assured the family that it was working with Israeli authorities to free him, but relatives are appealing for more action.
China and Indonesia are urging for an immediate and lasting cease-fire in Gaza after meeting in Jakarta, condemning the humanitarian costs of the Israel-Hamas war.
Indonesia’s foreign minister, Retno Marsudi, said that both countries share the same view on the importance of a cease-fire and resolving the Palestinian problem through a two-state solution.
Marsudi stated, "I am sure that China would use its influence to prevent escalation," and added that China and Indonesia "would also fully support Palestine’s membership in the U.N."
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi accused the United States of delaying cease-fire resolutions at the United Nations.
The U.S. vetoed several proposed U.N. Security Council resolutions because they didn’t tie a cease-fire directly to the release of Israel hostages or condemn Hamas’ attacks that prompted the war before allowing a resolution to pass with an abstention in late March.
By The Associated Press Israel promised to react to Iran’s extraordinary weekend attack, leaving the region preparing for further escalation after months of conflict in Gaza. Commercial planes diverted from their routes over western Iran early Friday without explanation, while one semi-official Iranian news agency reported “explosions” being heard over the city of Isfahan, though […] allowing a resolution to a pass with an abstention in late March.
