The Israeli attack on a military base near the Iranian city of Isfahan is part of a cycle of retaliation that has world leaders wary, but it produced a largely muted response from both on Friday.
Television networks and some officials in both countries downplayed the attack, which Israeli and Iranian officials confirmed.
In Israel, officials described the attack as a limited response aimed at avoiding escalation. Experts on the country's morning news shows said the attack did not appear to cause significant damage to military sites in Iran.
Dana Weiss, a foreign affairs analyst for Israel's Channel 12, told viewers: “Israel can carry out elegant military exercises that are not noisy or cause significant military damage but spread the word. convey the message that Israel wants.” “And that's what we saw them do.”
Iranian state television said military and nuclear facilities in Isfahan were safe and broadcast footage of the city looking peaceful in the spring light. One news reader there described the attack as “not a big deal.”
Social media users in Iran, including some linked to the country's military, derided the Israeli strike as a punitive response to some 300 missiles and drones that Iran launched into Israel last weekend.
In a video shared widely online on Friday, a girl threw a paper airplane into an apartment building and compared it to an Israeli attack, giggling as the folded paper hit the concrete structure .
Iranian officials told the New York Times that an attack hit an air base near Isfahan. But Brig. Gen. Siavash Mihandoust, the most senior military official in Isfahan, told state television that any explosions heard there on Friday were not caused by Israeli attacks but by defense systems. Do not shoot down “flying objects”.
Some in Israel celebrated the strikes, including elected leaders from the country's right-wing parties.
Tally Gotliv, a Likud lawmaker, wrote on X“A morning where our heads are held high with pride. Israel is a strong and powerful nation.”
