Tehran:

An explosion occurred in Iran’s central Isfahan province on Friday, state media reported, while U.S. officials told U.S. news outlets that Israel had carried out a retaliatory attack against the Islamic republic.

The attack came less than a week after Tehran launched more than 300 drones and missiles in its first direct attack on Israeli territory. The unprecedented attack itself was retaliation for previous widespread accusations of Israeli attacks on Syria.

The escalating tit-for-tat between the archrivals has prompted global powers to urge caution and call on both sides not to let the friction behind the war in Gaza spiral into a wider conflict across the Middle East.

Here’s what we know so far about the attacks in Iran:

What was hit?

Earlier on Friday, Iran’s Fars news agency said “three explosions” were heard near the Shekari Army Air Base in northwestern Isfahan province.

Iranian Space Agency spokesman Hossein Dalilian said that multiple drones were shot down and “there are currently no missile attacks.”

An unnamed U.S. official told CNN that the Israeli strikes in Iran were not targeting nuclear targets.

Iran’s Tasnim News Agency stated that “nuclear facilities in Isfahan Province are completely safe.”

Tasnim News Agency quoted people familiar with the matter as saying that Iran was attacked from abroad.

Explosions also occurred in southern Syria, according to local activist groups.

How did Iran respond?

According to state media reports, air defense systems in several Iranian cities have been activated.

Flights to cities such as Tehran, Isfahan and Shiraz were suspended, as well as airports in several parts of the country, the Meir news agency reported.

Flight tracking software shows commercial flights avoiding areas in western Iran, including Isfahan, and heading north and east around Tehran.

A flydubai aircraft bound for Tehran had to return to Dubai after the Iranian capital’s airport was closed, Emirates said in a statement.

On Friday morning, Iranian television broadcast a live broadcast of normal road traffic on a roundabout in Isfahan, while Iran’s official news agency said “no major damage” was caused after the explosion.

Why now?

Since the war in Gaza broke out in October, Iranian-backed armed groups in the region have launched attacks against Israel.

Both Lebanese Hezbollah and the Palestinian militant group Hamas are supported by Iran.

But recent direct exchanges between Israel and Iran have entered unprecedented territory.

In response to the deadly attack on the Iranian consulate in Damascus on April 1, which was widely blamed on Israel, Tehran fired hundreds of missiles and drones at its old enemy.

Israel vowed to respond to Saturday’s attack, which was largely intercepted and resulted in no fatalities.

Just hours before Friday’s explosion in Iran, Iran’s foreign minister warned that Israel would “regret” any attack against Iran.

Addressing a United Nations Security Council meeting on the Middle East on Thursday, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdullahian called the Islamic Republic’s weekend attacks a “legitimate defense” and said Israel should “stop any Further military adventurism”.

What was the response?

“We have no comment at this time,” the Israeli military told AFP on Friday when asked about reports of bombings and attacks in Iran and Syria.

There was no immediate comment from the White House or Pentagon.

Multiple US media reported that Washington had been notified of the Israeli attack in advance but did not support the action or participate in the execution of any operation.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)