April 19, 2024 - Iran targeted in aerial attack

Israel has carried out a strike inside Iran, a US official tells CNN, in a move that threatens to push the region deeper into conflict.

The target is not nuclear, the official said.

Prior to the Israeli strike Friday (local time), the US expectation was that they would not target civilian or nuclear facilities, another senior US official told CNN.

CNN has previously reported that Israel told the US its response would be limited in scope. US intelligence had suggested Israel was weighing a narrow and limited strike inside Iran because they felt like they had to respond with a kinetic action of some kind given the unprecedented scale of the Iranian attack

The range of targets was “never specified in precise terms but nuclear and civilian locations were clearly not in that category,” the second official added.

The US has been urging Israel not to respond to last weekend’s Iranian attack, which President Joe Biden on Thursday called “unprecedented.” The US “didn’t green light” an Israeli response, the second official said.

Oil prices surged nearly 4% and US stock futures fell sharply Thursday evening amid reports of explosions in Iran.

In recent trading, US oil prices climbed 3.7% to $85.80 a barrel. Brent crude, the world benchmark, gained 3.4% to $90.13 a barrel. 

Energy prices moved sharply higher as Iranian news agencies reported explosions heard near Iran’s Isfahan Airport.

The developments drove US stock futures steadily lower, with Dow futures down 480 points, or 1.3%. Nasdaq futures lost almost 2%.

“Israel’s response could determine whether oil supplies are ultimately under threat.”

Gold futures were up 1% at $2,422.4 per ounce in morning Asian trade with investors piling into safe-haven investments.

But stock markets in Asia sank as appetite for risk weakened, according to analysts.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 slid 3.5%. South Korea’s Kospi lost 3%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 1.5%. China’s Shanghai Composite inched down 0.1%.

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian warned Israel on Thursday against taking any military action against Iran.

The foreign minister said Iran sincerely hoped Israel would not repeat "the previous egregious error," referencing the apparent Israeli strike on Iran's embassy complex in Damascus, Syria.

The missiles and drones that Iran fired against Israel on Saturday were carried out in response to the suspected Israeli strikes and “stayed within a minimum of frameworks,” he said, adding that the intent was to take "equal action," and "to let it be known we do have the means to respond." But he warned that if Israel chooses to retaliate, “the next response from us will be immediate and at a maximum level.”