Israel strikes back at Iran: 5 key questions

Israel carried out limited strikes in Iran early Friday in retaliation for Tehran firing a barrage of missiles and drones at Israel last Saturday.

Here are the key facts you need to know about the latest escalation of violence between the two countries.

Fox News confirmed there have been explosions in Iran’s Isfahan province, which is where Natanz, one of Iran’s nuclear facilities, is located. 

A well-placed military source has told Fox News that the strike was “limited.”

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Iranian state media stated following the attack that the nation’s atomic sites were “fully safe” and not struck by the missiles.

The International Atomic Energy Agency, a United Nations affiliate watchdog organization, later confirmed “there is no damage to Iran’s nuclear sites.”

There have been no reports of large-scale damage or casualties.

A senior Iranian official reportedly told Reuters on Friday that Tehran has no immediate plans to strike back.

That official said “the foreign source of the incident has not been confirmed” and “the discussion leans more towards infiltration than attack.” 

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Iranian state media reportedly has been downplaying Friday’s strikes. A well-placed military source has told Fox News that the strikes were “limited.” 

“The explosion this morning in the sky of Isfahan was related to the shooting of air defense systems at a suspicious object that did not cause any damage,” Iranian army commander Gen. Abdolrahim Mousavi was quoted by The Associated Press as saying. 

Israel and its government have been notably quiet leading up to and following the retaliatory strike on Iran. 

“Israel will do whatever it needs to defend itself,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement before the Israeli strike. “[Foreign leaders] have all sorts of suggestions and advice. I appreciate that. But I want to be clear: Our decisions we will make ourselves.”

Former Israel Defense Forces spokesman Jonathan Conricus wrote on X following the strike that while Iran appears to downplay the strike, he “think[s] they’ve gotten the message.”

The United States has denied any involvement in the strike, having pleaded with Israel for days to respond with restraint against Iranian strikes.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken, when asked about Israel’s strikes on Iran Friday, said “I’m not going to speak to that except to say that the United States has not been involved in any offensive operations.”

“What we’re focused on, what the G7 is focused on, and again, it’s reflected in our statement and in our conversation, is our work to de-escalate tensions, to de-escalate from any potential conflict. You saw Israel on the receiving end of an unprecedented attack,” he added. “But our focus has been on, of course, making sure that Israel can effectively defend itself, but also de-escalating tensions, avoiding conflict.”

Fox News Digital’s Bradford Betz, Jennifer Griffin, Greg Norman, and Elizabeth Pritchett contributed to this report.