Iranians are waving Iranian flags and a Palestinian flag while one of them is holding a portrait of Qassem Soleimani, the former commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' (IRGC) Quds Force, in celebration of Iran's IRGC UAV and missile attack against Israel, in downtown Tehran, Iran, on April 14, 2024.
Iranians are waving Iranian flags and a Palestinian flag while one of them is holding a portrait of Qassem Soleimani, the former commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' (IRGC) Quds Force, in celebration of Iran's IRGC UAV and missile attack against Israel, in downtown Tehran, Iran, on April 14, 2024.
  • An Israeli strike hit Iran, multiple outlets reported, citing unnamed senior US officials.
  • Israel has not claimed responsibility for the strike.
  • The strike comes less than a week after Iran launched a barrage of more than 300 missiles and drones at Israel.

An Israeli strike hit Iran overnight causing several explosions, unnamed senior US officials told multiple outlets.

Explosions were heard near an Iranian military base in the early hours of Friday morning, per multiple news outlets. Though there is still a lack of clarity about the cause of the explosions and the damage caused, reports from ABC News, CBS News, CNN, and NPR, citing US officials, say Israel struck Iran.

The Israeli military mounted the strike, The New York Times reported, citing two Israeli defense officials it had spoken to.

At press time, Israel has not formally claimed responsibility for the strike.

CNN, citing the semi-official FARS news outlet, reported the explosions were heard in the city of Ghahjaworstan, which is located near Isfahan, Iran. The Iranian news outlet said Ghahjaworstan is located near Isfahan Airport and "the eighth hunting base of the Army Air Force."

The American official who spoke to CNN said the target struck was non-nuclear. On Friday morning, the International Atomic Energy Agency said on X that it could "confirm there is no damage to Iran's nuclear sites."

"Nuclear facilities should never be a target in military conflicts. IAEA is monitoring the situation very closely," the organization wrote.

Iranian air defense was also activated, per Iranian state media. CNN, citing an announcement by an airline company spokesperson on Iranian TV, reported that all flights to Tehran, Isfahan, and Shiraz were suspended. That suspension has since been lifted, a Civil Aviation Organization told CNN.

On the markets, oil prices shot up after reports of a possible escalation in the already-fraught relations between Israel and Iran. International benchmark Brent crude oil futures rose as much as 4.2% before trading 2.8% higher at $89.54 a barrel at 11:15 p.m. EDT, BI's Huileng Tan reported.

The reported explosions and strike come several days after Iran's unprecedented and large-scale attack on Israel last weekend, during which Tehran and its proxies fired more than 300 missiles and drones at Israel. Nearly all of the munitions were shot down by Israel and its partner forces in the region, including the US.

Israeli officials earlier this week vowed to retaliate for the attack, despite many of its Western partners urging restraint, warning that any action could trigger a larger military confrontation and plunge the Middle East even further into violence.

"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," Iran's foreign minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian told CNN's Erin Burnett on Thursday.

The Israel Defense Forces, the US Department of Defense, and US Central Command did not respond to requests for comment from Business Insider.

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