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Israel drones target air base near Iran’s largest nuclear facility
KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)
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Summary
Iranian officials confirmed an attempted attack on a military base in Ifsahan,the city that is home to Iran’s largest nuclear research centre, and believed to be the base for the country’s nuclear weapons programme.
Drones sent by Israel struck an air base near Ifsahan, which has the country’s largest nuclear research centre, according to officials from Iran who spoke to the New York Times.
Officials in Tehran said that there were no damages from the strike and that nuclear facility was ‘completely secure’. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which confirmed Iran’s claim, urged that “nuclear facilities should never be a target in military conflicts,” according to a report from AFP, an international news agency.
#UPDATE There has been no damage to Iranian nuclear sites following explosions Friday in the centre of Iran that have been described as Israeli revenge attacks, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said.
“IAEA can confirm that there is no damage to Iran’s nuclear… pic.twitter.com/llDe5VSzeD
— AFP News Agency (@AFP) April 19, 2024
However, the risk of a further escalation pushed investors to safe haven bets like the US treasuries, Swiss Franc and the US dollar.
Reports of explosions near the Isfahan airport emerged just minutes after unnamed US officials told the Australian broadcaster ABC that Israel had fired missiles on one Iran site.
The risk of a nuclear war
Iran had earlier warned that it may change its stance on nuclear war if there was Israel attacked its sites. “The nuclear facilities of the Zionist enemy have been identified and all the necessary information from all targets is at our disposal,” said the IRGC’s Brigadier General Ahmad Haghtalab, according to an Al Jazeera report earlier.
“Hands are on the trigger to fire powerful missiles for the total destruction of determined targets,” he added. While Israel has never admitted to owning nuclear weapons, it is widely believed that it has them.
Earlier, some Iranian officials denied any missile attack, in a conversation with Reuters. Hossein Dalirian, the spokesperson for Iran’s space agency, described it “as a failed attack with a few quadcopters” in a tweet.
Sirens were sounded off earlier in the day in Northern Israel, which shares a border with Lebanon, according to a Reuters report. The Sirens indicate that the Israeli army expects a hostile aircraft or missile to enter its territory.
The yield on US treasuries shrank by 14 basis points after the Israeli attack on Iran, according to Bloomberg data.
Meanwhile, gold prices crossed $2,400 an ounce. Brent Crude oil jumped back above $90 a barrel soon after the reports of explosions in Iran.
The Saturday attack from Iran was in response to the death of senior military officials from the country in an attack that targetted a diplomatic compound in Damascus, the capital of Syria.
Israel did not claim responsibility for the attack in Syria but the establishment in Tehran believes it as an act by its rival in Tel Aviv or on behalf of it. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had said that Israel has the right to protect itself and that a retaliatory attack from Israeli forces was imminent.
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