Iran says 'no missile attack for now' amid reports of strike by Israel in its territory

A day after Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel will 'make its own decisions' when responding to Iran's weekend airstrikes, an explosion was reportedly heard near the Iranian city of Isfahan, state media reported. The cause is currently unknown but airspace over several Iranian cities was closed shortly after the reported explosion.

Iran subsequently said that it shot down several drones and that there had been "no missile attack for now".

Several drones "have been successfully shot down by the country's air defence, there are no reports of a missile attack for now", Iran's space agency spokesman Hossein Dalirian said on X.

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"Flights over Isfahan, Shiraz and Tehran cities have been suspended," state media reported.Officials at Tehran's Khomeini International Airporturged all passengers to evacuate the airport due to the cancellation of all flights, a video shared by Iranian media showed.

The province of Isfahan is home to a large air base, a major missile production complex and reportedly several nuclear sites.

The explosion comes after Iran's unprecedented missile-and-drone attack on Israel last weekend.

There were also near-simultaneous reports of blasts in Iraq and southern Syria.

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A number of Western publications, including the BBC and ABC News reported that US officials have confirmed that an Israeli missile has struck Iran, a claim that could not be immediately verified at the time of filing this report.

What does it mean?

Earlier, Iranian foreign ministerHossein Amir-Abdollahian warned Israel on Thursday (April 18)against taking any military action against Iran.

"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," Amir-Abdollahian told CNN.

The Iranian leadersaid Iran sincerely hoped Israel would not repeat "the previous egregious error," in a purported reference to an alleged Israeli strike on Iran's embassy complex in Damascus, Syria.

"We have announced to the White House, sent a message to the White House and Washington DC, the administration in which we've reiterated that if the Israeli regime commits the great error once again our response will be decisive, definitive and regretful for them," Amir-Abdollahian said from the Iranian Permanent Mission to United Nations.

Meanwhile, Iran's local media said that nuclear facilities in Isfahan were "completely secure" after the explosions.

"Nuclear facilities in Isfahan province are completely secure," Tasnim news agency reported quoting "reliable sources".