Iran fired up its air defence system early this morning after reports of explosions near a major airbase at the city of Isfahan, according to reports.
Isfahan is also home to sites associated with Iran’s nuclear programme.
It remained unclear if the country was under attack, as no Iranian official directly acknowledged the possibility and Israel’s military did not immediately respond to The Independent’s request for a comment.
However, CBS, CNN and Reuters are citing US officials as stating it to be an Isareli strike that US was informed about earlier yesterday.
The state-run IRNA said the defences were fired across several provinces. It did not elaborate on what caused the batteries to fire, though people across the area reported hearing the sounds of explosion.
According to Iran’s semi-official FARS news agency, three explosions were heard near a military base in the northwest part of Isfahan. “The defence is activated in response to an object that is likely to be a drone,” sources told FARS news.
Dubai-based carriers Emirates and FlyDubai began diverting their flights around western Iran about 4.30am local time.
Iran later announced it grounded commercial flights in Tehran and across areas of its western and central regions.