World leaders appealed for calm Friday after reported Israeli retaliation against Iran added to months of tense spillover from the war in Gaza, with Iranian state media reporting explosions in a central province.
There was no immediate reaction from Israeli or Iranian officials.
Israel had warned it would hit back after Iran fired hundreds of missiles and drones at it almost a week ago, in retaliation for a deadly strike -- which Tehran blamed on its regional foe -- that levelled Iran's consular annex at its embassy in Syria.
Air defence systems over several cities were activated, state media reported Friday, after Iran's official broadcaster said explosions were heard near Isfahan city, in the province of the same name.
An anonymous Israeli official told The Washington Post the "strike" was retaliation for Iran's drone and missile barrage and intended to signal that Israel had the ability to hit inside Iran.
Iran's Tasnim news agency, citing "informed sources", denied that Iran had been attacked from outside.
"Contrary to the rumours and claims" made in foreign media, "there are no reports of an attack from abroad", Tasnim said.
Three Iranian officials told The New York Times that small drones carried out the "attack", possibly launched from inside Iran, and that its radar systems had not detected unidentified aircraft entering Iranian airspace.
Fars news agency reported "three explosions" close to Qahjavarestan, near Isfahan airport and the 8th Shekari army airbase.
Iran's space agency spokesman Hossein Dalirian, referring to a type of drone, said there........