TEHRAN (Kashmir English): A new wave of conflict has erupted in the Middle East as Israel carried out an airstrike on Iran’s Isfahan nuclear site. This marks one of the most dangerous escalations between the two countries in recent years.
Israel has claimed responsibility for a series of overnight strikes targeting missile storage facilities and critical infrastructure inside Iran, including an alleged attack on Isfahan nuclear site in the central city of Isfahan.
According to reports carried by Qatari broadcaster Al Jazeera, citing Iran’s Fars News Agency – which operates under the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, in the early hours of Friday, loud explosions were heard near the Isfahan nuclear site, a sensitive location in central Iran that is crucial to the country’s nuclear program. Iran’s air defense systems were activated, and reports suggest that the Isfahan nuclear site came under significant attack from Israeli forces.
A deputy governor of Isfahan province confirmed that multiple locations — including the cities of Linjan, Mubarakeh, Shahreza, and Isfahan — were targeted in what he described as a “series of aerial attacks.” He added that while the nuclear facility itself was also targeted, “no hazardous materials were released.”
Iran, on the other hand, maintained that it had successfully repelled the attack on the nuclear site. Authorities said that defensive systems intercepted incoming drones and that all facilities remained “secure and under control.”
The UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has not yet commented on the status of the Isfahan facility.
The overnight escalation comes days after Iran ruled out resuming nuclear negotiations under what it described as “conditions of military aggression.” Israel has long opposed any international agreement that would allow Iran to maintain elements of its nuclear programme, which Tehran insists is peaceful.
U.S. President Donald Trump also commented earlier, suggesting that the U.S. may join military operations within the next two weeks if tensions continue to grow.
The US, which has no formal diplomatic relations with Iran, has been monitoring the situation closely. In a separate development, the Associated Press reported that the State Department evacuated 79 personnel and family members from its embassy in Israel on Friday amid growing regional instability.
