Israel-Iran Crisis: Airstrike In Retaliation Strikes Isfahan Military Base

ISRAEL launched a military operation against Iran on Friday, April 19, purportedly in retaliation for recent provocations.

The strike reportedly targeted a military air station close to Isfahan, though it's still unknown exactly how big of an attack it was and how it was carried out.

The news of the Israeli strike has caused an almost 4% increase in oil prices.

The Iran nuclear facility is located in the province of Isfahan, where the explosions were recorded. Fortunately, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) later determined that there was no damage to the nuclear plant.

The recent uptick started with Iran's drone and missile strikes, which were a response to an earlier attack on Monday, April 1, which was blamed on Israel and resulted in the deaths of senior Iranian security officers in their embassy in Syria.

A US official confirmed that Israel has carried out military operations inside Iran. There were also reports of explosions in southern Syria and Iraq.

Moreover, Iran turned on its air defense systems, causing airspace to close and commercial flights to be rerouted.

Officials from Iran and Israel have stated that there are no urgent plans for more attacks or retaliation in spite of these developments. Still, the price of a barrel of Brent crude oil increased to nearly $90 from $87 before the strike.

As a result of Iran's most recent drone attack on Israel, the United States and the United Kingdom have imposed new sanctions on the country.

The UK Foreign Office has placed asset freezes and travel restrictions on seven people and six businesses, including those connected to drone and missile programs, while Washington has targeted 16 people and two entities that produce the engines for the drones.

As stated by UK Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron during the G7 Foreign Ministers conference in Capri, this unified action underscores the clear and unambiguous condemnation of Iran's aggression towards a sovereign state.

The purpose of the UK's new Iran sanctions regime, which was implemented in response to Iran's hostile actions, was to enforce these restrictions.