Israel strikes Iranian military base, but damage appears limited

The drone attack may have been launched from Iran, once again demonstrating Israel's ability to carry out clandestine operations there. /p>

The Israeli military struck Iran early Friday in retaliation for an air attack on Israel last weekend, according to two Israeli and three Iranian officials, but the strike appears to be limited in scope and the response from Israel and Iran has remained silent.

Iranian officials said the strike hit a military airbase near from the city of Isfahan, in central Iran, and that it had been carried out by small drones. They said the drones could have been launched from Iran, whose radar systems had not detected unidentified planes entering Iranian airspace.

If the drones were launched inside the country, it would once again demonstrate Israel's ability to mount clandestine operations on Iranian territory. Iranian officials said a separate group of small drones was shot down in the Tabriz region, about 500 miles north of Isfahan.

Planes from Israeli fighters also fired missiles in the retaliatory strike. , said a Western official and two Iranian officials. It was not immediately clear whether Iranian defenses intercepted the missiles or where they landed.

The Israeli military declined to comment. A senior U.S. official said Israel informed the United States through several channels shortly before the attack. All officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.

Speaking to reporters at a meeting of Group of 7 foreign ministers in Italy, Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken said the United States had "not been involved in any offensive operations" in Iran. But he declined to comment further and did not even confirm the Israeli strike, referring instead to “reported events.”

The map locates the city of Isfahan in central Iran and the city of Tabriz in the north.

AZERBAIJAN

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Tabriz

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