Israel's attack on a military base near the Iranian city of Isfahan was part of a cycle of retaliation that alarmed world leaders, but both countries' reactions on Friday were largely muted.
Israeli and Iranian officials also acknowledged it, although television networks and some officials in both countries downplayed the significance of the attack.
In Israel, officials described the attack as a limited response to avoid escalating tensions. Experts appearing on the country's morning news programs said the attack did not appear to have caused significant damage to Iranian military facilities.
Dana Weiss, a diplomatic analyst for Israel's Channel 12, told viewers that “Israel can conduct elegant military exercises that are not noisy, do not cause significant military damage, and that convey the message Israel wants.” I can do it,” he said. “And that's what we've seen them do.”
Iranian state television said Isfahan's military and nuclear facilities were safe and broadcast footage of the city looking serene in the spring light. One newsreader there described the attack as “no big deal.”
Iranian social media users, including members of the country's military, derided the Israeli attack as a lackluster response to Iran's firing of some 300 missiles and drones into Israel over the weekend.
in a video In the article, which was widely shared online on Friday, a girl throws a paper airplane at an apartment building, compares it to an Israeli airstrike, and laughs as the folded paper hits a concrete structure.
Iranian officials told The New York Times that a military air base near Isfahan had been bombed. However, Brig. Isfahan's top military official, General Siavash Mihandoust, told state television that the explosions heard there on Friday were not the result of an Israeli attack, but rather the shooting down of a “flying object” by air defense systems.
Some people in Israel, including elected leaders of the country's right-wing political parties, celebrated the strike.
Tully Gotliff, Likud Party Member of Parliament; I wrote to X, “A morning when my head lifts up proudly. Israel is a strong and powerful country. ”
