Israel targets Isfahan nuclear research complex, Iranian official says

Israeli airstrikes on Saturday (21) hit Iran's nuclear research complex in Isfahan, the country's largest, the provincial deputy governor told the semi-official Fars news agency.

Several other areas in Isfahan province were also targeted, but there were no reports of casualties, the deputy governor said.

Iranian air defenses intercepted the Israeli strikes, but some managed to get through, according to the official's account.

"Most of the explosions heard during the strikes emanated from air defense system engagements, and others were due to enemy attacks," the official was quoted as saying by Fars, without identifying them.

The deputy governor said there was no release of hazardous materials as a result of the attack, but residents were advised to avoid the area so that rescue and crisis management teams could work.

According to the semi-official MEHR news agency, Akbar Salehi, deputy head of security and law enforcement at the Isfahan governor's office, said Israel carried out strikes in several locations in the province but the oil refinery was not hit.

Israel attacked the Isfahan Nuclear Technology Center in the early days of the conflict. An Israel Defense Forces official said last Saturday (14) that the facility suffered significant damage. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said four buildings at the site were badly damaged, but a spokesman for the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran said the damage was limited.