An alleged Israeli strike in Iran overnight Thursday-Friday went beyond the scope of several small drones described by Tehran, US media reported later Friday. The strike reportedly included three missiles launched by Israeli Air Force warplanes that targeted an air defense radar site near Isfahan that was part of an array defending the nearby top-secret Natanz nuclear site.
The reports, first published by ABC, cited a US official as saying that the missiles were fired from outside of Iranian airspace.
According to the ABC report, the strike was “very limited.” It said that according to an initial assessment, the strike took out the radar site, but the assessment had not yet been completed
The ABC report did not say if the missiles were in addition to the drones reported by Iran.
A New York Times report late on Friday, which also said Israeli planes fired the missiles, noted that the new information suggested that the Israel strike “included more advanced firepower than initial reports indicated.”
The Times said it was “not immediately clear the types of missiles used, from where they were fired, whether any were intercepted by Iran’s defenses or where they landed.”
Iran had claimed earlier that three small drones were involved in the attack on Isfahan. State TV said that the small aircraft were destroyed by air defenses, and it made no mention of any missiles or damage in the attack.
Authorities said air defenses fired at a major air base in Isfahan, which long has been home to Iran’s fleet of American-made F-14 Tomcats — purchased before the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
Israel has not officially commented on the strike.
Citing “senior US military sources,” Fox News also reported that the target of the strike was a military base in Isfahan, and not the not the heavily fortified nuclear facilities themselves which lie some 100 kilometers (62 miles) to the north of the city, largely buried under a mountain.
“The Israelis hit what they intended to strike,” one of the sources told Fox News, adding that there was one main target that was hit multiple times and that Iran’s Russian-made air defense system was proven ineffective.
The targets of the strike included air defense systems at the military base, which is used to protect the nearby nuclear facilities, Fox reported.
Israel’s message with the strike was to sell the Iranians on the idea that “we can reach out and touch you,” the source said.
Satellite imagery seen by The Times of Israel showed damage to the radar system near Isfahan Airport. The imagery was not immediately permitted for publication, per the policy of the agency that took the photo.
Additional synthetic aperture radar satellite images taken Friday also showed evidence that the radar site was targeted.
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