Iranian media is certainly downplaying this incident. According to state TV, three small unknown flying objects were interecepted near the the city of Isfahan just after 4am local time.

The Iranian air defence systems were able to intercept and destroy these flying object, state TV said. The location in Isfahan province is an Iranian military airbase that belongs to the country’s army, and not the Revolutionary Guards. I think it’s important to highlight that.

This base houses multiple squadrons of F-14 Tomcat fighter aircrafts. This facility is also located near the Isfahan airport and as a result of all this the officials have now cleared the Iranian skies. Flights have been cancelled.

We also understand that the air defence systems over the city of Tabriz in the northwestern part of Iran was also activated.

The attack in Iran has raised fears of a further escalation in the region. Here are the latest international reactions:

• Russia’s Foreign Ministry says it is looking into reports of the attack and urges all sides to exercise “restraint” to prevent further escalation.
• Turkey’s Foreign Ministry has also called for de-escalation, saying the priority of the international community should be “to stop the massacre in Gaza and to ensure lasting peace” .
• For his part, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has said that “Everyone must ensure now and in the near future that there is no further escalation of the war".
• The Netherlands says ‘recent developments very worrying’
• Italy urges ‘de-escalation’
• EU chief urges restraint
• China says opposes actions that ‘escalate tensions’
• UK’s Sunak: Significant escalation not in anyone’s interest
• Foreign minister says Russia told Israel ‘Iran doesn’t want escalation’
• UAE, Jordan join chorus urging de-escalation
• Oman condemns ‘Israeli attack’ on Iran
• G7 asks ‘all parties’ to prevent further Middle East escalation
• All Blinken says is US not involved in offensive action
• The G7 ministers’ communique, meanwhile, warned of new sanctions against Iran for its April 13 drone and missile attack on Israel and called on both sides to avoid an escalation of the conflict.

Oil prices have rallied amid fears of a wider escalation in the Middle East.

This morning’s reports sent shivers through markets, with both main oil contracts surging more than 3 percent on worries about supplies from the crude-rich region, while fears of a regional conflict saw equities tumble.

Tokyo, Seoul and Taipei each plunged more than 3 percent, while Hong Kong and Sydney were off more than 1 percent. There were also losses in Shanghai, Singapore, Wellington, Manila and Jakarta.

The rush for safety also saw the yen rally against the US dollar and gold jump more than 1 percent past $2,400, while US Treasuries climbed.

“It is now clear that the escalating shadow warfare between Israel and Iran … has finally ignited the powder keg in the Middle East, and we have moved decisively out of the shadows and into the glaring light of open conflict,” Stephen Innes, of SPI Asset Management, said.

“It should be noted that this is not a staged response to an Iranian drone attack but rather an indication that we have entered a new phase of this conflict, one that is likely to have significant and far-reaching consequences for Middle East peace and least of all risk markets.”

A senior Iranian official has told Reuters there is no plan for immediate retaliation, adding that there was no clarity yet on who was behind the incident.

“The foreign source of the incident has not been confirmed. We have not received any external attack, and the discussion leans more towards infiltration than attack,” the official said on condition of anonymity.

Isfahan has been hit by quadcopters before

According to army officials and state TV, three small unknown flying objects were shot down near an Iranian army air base, just northeast of the city of Isfahan, within Isfahan province.

This base is known as the 8th Tactical Air Base, which is home to Iran’s fleet of US-made F-14 Tomcats, which were purchased before the 1979 revolution.

An Iranian commander had told Iranian media that shots were fired at some objects and there was no damaged caused.

When he was asked whether or not this will incite the Iranians, he said, “You have seen Iran’s response already”, indicating that this attack most likely by Israel, could be for now, the end of this back-and-forth threats and counter-threats that have been made by Iranian officials as well as their Israeli counterparts.

Syria’s official news agency SANA has quoted a military source as saying that missile strikes in the early hours of the morning had caused material damage to air defence sites in the country’s southern region.

The report did not specify the exact location and the extent of the damage but blamed Israel.

The far-right security minister has written “Feeble!” on the social media platform.

Itamar Ben-Gvir’s one-word posting followed reports of what some have described as an apparently limited Israeli strike in Iran that so far appeared to have elicited a muted response from Iranian officials.

“Never before a minister has done such a heavy damage to the country’s security, its image, and its international status,” opposition leader Yair Lapid wrote on X. “In an unforgivable tweet of one word, Ben-Gvir managed to sneer and shame Israel from Tehran to Washington,” he said.

The opposition leader was referring to a social media post by the far-right security minister suggesting that the suspected Israeli strike on Iran was weak. Ben-Gvir has been calling for a harsh military response after Iran’s retaliatory attack against Israel on April 13.

Two Israeli soldiers have been injured while raiding Nur Shams refugee camp in the occupied West Bank, according to Israel’s Army Radio. The soldiers were “lightly wounded” by shrapnel while exchanging fire with fighters there, according to the report.

The Israeli military went into Nur Shams refugee camp late Thursday night, and on Friday morning, they were still there. In 12 hours of raids, they destroyed roads, buildings, shops and houses, and tore up sewage lines.

On Friday morning, the raids were ongoing.

Locals describe the mayhem being carried out by the Israeli military as the worst destruction of infrastructure they’ve seen in the West Bank since the destruction of the Jenin refugee camp during the second Intifada in the early 2000s.

Residents say they are worried that this escalation and intensity is a signal that once the Israeli military is done with Gaza, the West Bank will be next.

The raid has been going on for about 15 or 16 hours now and there seems to be no letup in sight. We know that at least three Palestinian residents of the camp have been injured, and at least one person has been killed by an Israeli sniper’s bullets.

We’ve been hearing the sound of drones overhead for hours – and multiple large, loud explosions.

Sustained small-arms fire, indicative of active firefights, is ongoing. The Israeli military has at least 40 military vehicles, with potentially dozens of Israeli soldiers fighting against Palestinian armed resistance fighters who are using small arms as well as explosives.

We also know that the Israelis have taken in new military bulldozers that are capable of driving directly through houses – and that’s what they’ve been doing. Dozens of homes are destroyed and demolished. Israeli soldiers have been carrying out raids in homes, carrying out on-site interrogations.

This is likely to carry on for several hours. The situation remains very dangerous inside the camp.