Israel has carried out a retaliatory military operation against Iran amid growing tensions in the Middle East that threaten to push the region into wider conflict.
Iran used air defence batteries in several locations after reports of three explosions close to a military airbase near the cities of Isfahan and Tabriz, Tehran state media said early Friday.
U.S. officials have confirmed the strike, adding that President Joe Biden had been forewarned earlier on Thursday that the attack would come within the next 48 hours.
Israel assured the U.S. that Iranian nuclear facilities near Isfahan would not be targeted, CNN reported.
It comes after Iran's retaliatory strike over the weekend when Tehran launched some 300 drones and missiles at Israel in response to the killing of several Islamic Revolutionary Guard commanders at an Iranian consulate in Syria earlier this month.
A tit-for-tat conflict now threatens to spiral out of control in the Middle East as Iran decides how to respond to the latest attack.
Addressing the attack on state television, a senior military commander appeared to downplay Israel's action saying no damage had been inflicted on the site in Isfahan, a city strongly associated with Iran's nuclear program.
State television reported mini drones flown by "infiltrators from inside Iran" had been shot down, the Reuters news agency reported.
"Three drones were observed in the sky over Isfahan. The air defense system became active and destroyed these drones in the sky," the report added.
Iranian officials also told the New York Times that the attack was carried out by small drones—potentially launched from inside Iran. Radar did not detect unidentified aircraft entering Iranian airspace, the officials said.
Other drones were shot down in Tabriz, the paper reported.
Israel has not commented but had vowed to respond to Iran's weekend attack.
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi warned Israel that Tehran would deliver a "severe response" to any attack on its territory following Sunday morning's drone and missile attack.
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian separately told CNN that its forces response would be "immediate and at a maximum level" if Israel took any action.
"If the Israeli regime commits the grave error once again our response will be decisive, definitive and regretful for them," he said, adding that the U.S. had been warned of this through the Swiss Embassy in Tehran.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, however, vowed to respond following the attack six days ago.
The U.S., European Union, and G7 group all subsequently announced plans to tighten sanctions on Iran in the hope that it would persuade Israel not to react militarily.
The retaliatory strikes come against the backdrop of Iran's backing of the Hamas militant group, whose October 7 onslaught saw Israel carry out military action throughout Gaza.
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