Will Iran retaliate against Israel? Will Iran bomb or attack Israel, will there be a war - latest news

In the wake of reports of an Israeli counterattack against Iran, the government is emphasising the need for "de-escalation and moderation."

Cabinet minister Mel Stride said the UK acknowledges Israel's right to self-defence, according to cabinet minister Mel Stride, but it also calls on its ally to "work hard towards de-escalation."

Iran said it fired air defence systems early on Friday (19 April) to shoot down drones spotted at a major air base and nuclear site near the city of Isfahan, raising fears of a wider conflict in the region.

Tensions have been high since Iran launched an assault on Israel amid its war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip and its own strikes targeting Iran in Syria last Saturday (13 April).

The two arch foes have waged a shadow war for decades, but that strike was the first direct Iranian military attack on Israeli soil, and followed Israel’s targeting of an Iranian diplomatic compound in Syria earlier this month.

What happened?

Tel Aviv had vowed to respond to Iran’s 13 April attack, despite calls for restraint from allies, some of whom – including the UK, US and France – helped Israel repel Tehran’s unprecedented drone and missile barrage.

But while Iran has confirmed that it shot down drones near a major air base and nuclear site, at the time of writing, no Iranian official has directly acknowledged the possibility that the country had come under a direct attack, and Israel’s military did not respond to a request for comment.

US officials declined to comment early on Friday, but American broadcast networks quoting unnamed US officials said Israel carried out the attack. The New York Times quoted anonymous Israeli officials also claiming the assault.

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Air defence batteries fired in several provinces over reports of drones being in the air, state television reported.

In particular, IRNA said air defences fired at a major air base in Isfahan, which long has been home to Iran’s fleet of American-made F-14 Tomcats — purchased before the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Iranian state television said nuclear facilities near Isfahan are “fully safe” after air defence batteries fired in the area. The semi-official Fars and Tasnim news agencies reported the sound of blasts without giving a cause - state television acknowledges a “loud noise” in the area.

Will Iran retaliate?

It’s hard to speculate on whether Iran could launch back at Israel without a clearer picture of what actually went on.

Though it seems the nature of the incident was an attack on Iran - two US officials have told the BBC's US partner CBS News - it seems to have been on a much smaller scale than that of Iran’s own planned bombardment last weekend.

More than 300 drones and missiles were fired at Israel by Iran during its unprecedented attack - Hossein Dalirian, a spokesman for Iran’s civilian cyberspace programme, said on the X social media platform that several small” “quadcopter” drones had been shot down.

This could be viewed as a relatively restrained Israeli reaction, contrary to the concerns of many Western authorities earlier in the week; a broader strike on Iran's nuclear sites resulting in civilian casualties would undoubtedly have been perceived as significantly more forceful and aggressive.

A senior Iranian official told Reuters news agency that "Iran has no plan for immediate retaliation against Israel,” and Jonathan Conricus, a former IDF spokesman, said “Iran seeks to return to the shadows and is downplaying the Israeli strike... but I think they’ve gotten the message.”