“Completely safe” nuclear sites: Iran downplays “Israeli drone strike”

Early on Friday morning, Iranian forces deployed air defenses around a significant air base and a nuclear facility in the Persian capital of Isfahan, taking down three drones. However, no one in Tehran confirmed that Israel may have been the attack’s origin.

Israel also refrained from commenting on social media accounts that reported loud explosions near Isfahan. These events, however, momentarily alarmed the Indian financial markets and caused safe-haven assets like gold and silver to reach all-time highs. Additionally, Air India declared that it would suspend flights to Tel Aviv until April 30 due to safety concerns.

During a G7 gathering, Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said that the US obtained “last-minute” intelligence about the strike from Israel. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said, “I’m not going to speak to that, except to say that the US has not been involved in any offensive operation,” as US officials refused to comment on the incident on record. The incident, which occurred on the 85th birthday of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, caused the airspace to be blocked for more than four hours before being restored at midday.

According to Iranian Army Commander Gen. Abdolrahim Mousavi, air defense forces attacked many flying objects without causing any damage. According to Tasnim, an Iranian news agency, one of its reporters heard gunfire early in the morning as he was close to the uranium conversion plant in Isfahan. All atomic sites have been deemed “fully safe” by Iranian state media. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) confirmed it, stating that “nuclear facilities should never be a target in military conflicts” and that “there is no damage to Iran’s nuclear sites.”

Experts speculated that Iran’s relatively minor strike and its subsequent downplaying of the event demonstrated effective diplomacy in averting a full-scale conflict. Most state-run media outlets in Iran claimed that “infiltrators” were behind the assault and did not mention Israel.

Nonetheless, the rising trend of precious metal prices indicated that there was concern about the outbreak of a regional conflict. Silver followed suit, hitting Rs 86,600 per kilogram, while gold reached an all-time high of Rs 74,000 per 10 g.. As soon as it became clear that there would be no immediate Iranian retribution, the financial markets rebounded to report gains after first plunging precipitously.