Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Watch again: Flights across Middle East region tracked after Israel launch missile strike on Iran

Lucy Leeson
Friday 19 April 2024 15:32 BST
Comments

Your support helps us to tell the story

This election is still a dead heat, according to most polls. In a fight with such wafer-thin margins, we need reporters on the ground talking to the people Trump and Harris are courting. Your support allows us to keep sending journalists to the story.

The Independent is trusted by 27 million Americans from across the entire political spectrum every month. Unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock you out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. But quality journalism must still be paid for.

Help us keep bring these critical stories to light. Your support makes all the difference.

Watch again as flights across the Middle East region were tracked after Israel launched a missile strike on Iran.

Israel launched a retaliatory attack against Iran on 18 April, with explosions heard near a major military airbase.

Tehran was forced to activate its air defence system above the city of Isfahan, which is also home to sites associated with Iran’s nuclear programme. However, there was no damage to the nuclear sites, said the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

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.

It is understood the US received advanced warning of the attack, with White House officials closely monitoring the situation.

Iranian state media said that air defence batteries had been fired across several provinces, with three drones destroyed. It did not elaborate on what caused the batteries to fire, though people across the area reported hearing the sounds of explosion.

Before the strikes, Iran had vowed to retaliate immediately if hit and at a “maximum level”.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in