DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran activated air defense weapons early Friday morning after reports of explosions near a major airbase in the city of Isfahan, as reported by the state-run IRNA news agency.
It was not clear if the country was under attack. However, tensions are high after Iran’s unprecedented missile-and-drone attack on Israel. One government official suggested sites may have been targeted by drones.
The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
IRNA said the defenses were activated across several provinces. It did not explain what caused the weapons to activate, though people across the area reported hearing the sounds.
In particular, IRNA said air defenses activated at a major airbase in Isfahan, which has been home to Iran’s fleet of American-made F-14 Tomcats — purchased before the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
The semiofficial Fars and Tasnim news agencies also reported the sound of blasts, without giving a cause. State television acknowledged “loud noise” in the area.
Isfahan also is home to sites associated with Iran’s nuclear program, including its underground Natanz enrichment site, which has been repeatedly targeted by suspected Israeli attacks. However, state television described all sites in the area as “fully safe.”
Dubai-based carriers Emirates and FlyDubai started redirecting flights around western Iran around 4:30 a.m. local time. They offered no explanation, though local warnings to aviators suggested the airspace may have been closed.
Iran later announced it halted commercial flights in Tehran and across areas of its western and central regions. Loudspeakers informed customers of the incident at Imam Khomeini International Airport in Tehran, as purportedly shown in online videos.
Iranian state television started an on-screen alert acknowledging a “loud noise” near Isfahan, without immediately explaining.
Hossein Dalirian, a spokesman for Iran’s civilian space program, said on the X social media platform that several small “quadcopter” drones had been shot down. It was not immediately clear where that happened or if it was part of the ongoing incident in Iran.
Meanwhile in Iraq, where a number of Iranian-backed militias are based, residents of Baghdad reported hearing sounds of explosions, but the source of the noise was not immediately clear.
