IRAN – Iran fired air defense batteries to shoot down three drones over the central city of Isfahan, according to state media reports, after officials in the United States told US broadcasters that Israel carried out military operations against Iran.
Explosions were reported yesterday in the sky over the cities of Isfahan and Tabriz, but the Iranian government has downplayed the incident.
There has been no official comment from Israel. Several countries have called for “de-escalation”. Here are some reactions:
A Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson said Oman “condemns the Israeli attack this morning on Isfahan in the Islamic Republic of Iran”.
It also “condemns and denounces Israel’s repeated military attacks in the region”, the statement said.
The Gulf country has long mediated between Iran and Western countries.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Egypt was “deeply concerned” about an escalation of hostilities between Israel and Iran.
Egypt also warned of the consequences of expanding the conflict and instability in the region.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs called on all sides to refrain from steps that could lead to a wider conflict in the Middle East.
It said in a statement that priority of the international community should be “to stop the massacre in Gaza and to ensure lasting peace” in the region by establishing a Palestinian state.
“It is becoming increasingly evident that the tensions that were initially caused by Israel’s illegal attack on the Iranian Embassy in Damascus risk turning into a permanent conflict,” it added.
Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said Israeli-Iranian retaliations must end, warning against the danger of regional escalation.
Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani called for an “absolute de-escalation”.
“We invite everyone to be cautious to avoid an escalation,” he told RAI news from the Italian island of Capri, where Italy is hosting a meeting of foreign ministers from the Group of Seven (G7) nations.
The G7 foreign ministers urged “all parties” to “work to prevent further escalation” in the Middle East.
“In light of reports of strikes on April 19th, we urge all parties to work to prevent further escalation. The G7 will continue to work to this end,” they said in a statement.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said: “It’s a developing situation, it wouldn’t be right for me to speculate until the facts become clearer and we’re working to confirm the details together with allies.
“Significant escalation is not in anyone’s interest. What we want to see is calm heads prevail across the region.”
European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen called for restraint to avoid further escalation in the Middle East.
“We have to do everything possible [so] that all sides restrain from the escalation in that region,” she told reporters during a visit to Finland.
“It is absolutely necessary that the region stays stable and that all sides refrain from further action.”
The United Nations nuclear watchdog confirmed that “there is no damage to Iran’s nuclear sites”. IAEA chief Rafael Grossi called for extreme restraint and said nuclear facilities should never be a target in military conflicts.
The IAEA “is monitoring the situation very closely,” it said on X.
Foreign Minister Hanke Bruins Slot said that the Netherlands is “closely monitoring the situation in Iran”.
“The recent developments in the Middle East are deeply worrying. It is of paramount importance that further escalation is prevented,” Bruins Slot added on X.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz warned against further escalation in the Middle East.
“Everyone must ensure now and in the near future that there is no further escalation of the war,” Scholz said.
The Kremlin said it was studying information on Israel’s reported strike on Iran and urged both sides to show restraint.
Yoshimasa Hayashi, Japan’s chief cabinet secretary, said: “Japan is deeply concerned about the situation in the Middle East and strongly condemn any actions that lead to the escalation of the situation.
“Japan will continue to make all necessary diplomatic efforts to prevent the situation from worsening further.”
Minister of Foreign Affairs Tobias Billstrom said: “This is something we from the government’s side take very seriously and are following very closely.”
He added that there “has to be an end to the exchange of blows and escalation”.
“We are monitoring the situation closely. We will address the situation with the foreign ministers at the G7 session this morning in Italy,” Foreign Minister Melanie Joly said on X.
Deputy foreign minister Jean-Noel Barrot said France’s “position is to call on all actors for de-escalation and restraint”.
“Israel’s latest strikes on Iran are another violation of the prohibition on the use of military force under international law & the UN Charter, and threaten the human right to life.” (Al Jazeera)…[+]

UKRAINE – Two Russian strikes in Ukraine’s central Dnipropetrovsk region have killed eight people, including two children, officials say.
The station in the main city Dnipro came under attack, and several homes were hit further east in Synelnykove.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said that the attack highlighted the need for every city to have adequate air defenses.
In a separate strike, Ukraine said that for the first time it had downed a long-range bomber in Russian territory.
According to Ukraine’s interior minister, a boy aged eight and a girl of 14 were among six people killed when private homes were targeted by Russian strikes on the town of Synelnykove.
A third child, who had earlier been reported killed, was in a critical condition and several other people were wounded.
Another two people were killed and 19 wounded in the regional capital, Dnipro, when the train station and a five-storey building were hit. Rail operator Ukrzaliznytsia said a woman who was on duty at the time was killed and seven other railway workers were hurt.
Rescue services were continuing to search the rubble and warned that the number of victims would rise, the ministry added. A maternity hospital was also hit.
Ukraine has for months warned that it is running low on weapons capable of bringing down Russian missiles and drones, and Nato’s secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg, has spoken of an “urgent, critical need” for fresh military aid.
Earlier this week, the northern city of Chernihiv was struck in Russia’s deadliest attack for some time, leaving 18 dead and dozens wounded. Three Iskander cruise missiles hit residential buildings close to the centre of the city, the regional leader said.
For months, a US military aid package worth $60.8bn (£49bn) has been blocked by Republican representatives in Congress. However, the Republican leader of the House of Representatives, Mike Johnson, has said he is determined to bring the matter to a vote, which could take place as early as today.
Meanwhile, the air force in Kyiv said it had brought down a Russian Tu-22M3 strategic bomber 300km (186 miles) from Ukrainian territory. It said the plane eventually went down in Russia’s Stavropol region after it had launched a missile strike on Ukraine.
Ukraine’s defense intelligence described the strike as a special operation similar to an earlier attack on a Russian long-range radar plane.
In January, Ukraine’s military said it had brought down an A-50 spy plane and a control centre plane over the Sea of Azov. Ukrainian media reported yesterday that the bomber had been hit by a missile fired from an upgraded Soviet S-200 air defense system.
Unverified video yesterday showed a plane on fire spiralling out of control to the ground and Stavropol regional governor Vladimir Vladimirov said only that the plane had crashed in a Russian field some distance north of the main city.
Russia’s defense ministry blamed a technical malfunction after the bomber had carried out a “combat task”. Two pilots had been found alive, a third crew member was killed and rescue services were looking for a fourth, the governor said.
Ukrainian air force chief Lt Gen Mykola Oleschuk said Russia had fired six Kh-22 cruise missiles overnight and two of them had been destroyed for the first time.
The Tu-22M3 is described as a supersonic bomber and the air force commander said the planes were used to carry Kh-22 missiles for attacks on Ukrainian cities. (BBC)…[+]

POLAND/UKRAINE – A Polish man has been charged over claims that he assisted an alleged Russian plot to assassinate Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky, according to authorities in Poland and Ukraine.
He was charged with “readiness to act for foreign intelligence against the Republic of Poland,” an offense which carries up to eight years in prison if he is found guilty, according to prosecutors.
Polish authorities allege the man, named as Paweł K, was tasked “to help, among other things, in planning by Russian special services a possible attack on the life of the head of a foreign state – President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky,” according to a statement.
Prosecutors said the man agreed to provide information to Russian spies about security at Rzeszów-Jasionka airport, in southeastern Poland, about 100 kilometers (62 miles) from the border with Ukraine.
Zelensky is known to use the airport when leaving on foreign trips, as it is one of the closest airports to the Ukrainian border. The airport often receives military aid and civilian goods from the US and across Europe because Ukraine’s airspace remains closed to non-military flights.
Ukrainian authorities said they uncovered the plot and handed key evidence to Polish officials, who then detained the accused on Polish territory.
Polish prosecutors said the man had contacted Russians “directly involved in the war in Ukraine,” though it was not clear from official statements whether he had handed over any information, or even collected it.
It is not the first time Ukraine has claimed to have foiled an attempt to kill President Zelensky, who has become a figurehead of his country’s war effort and been energetic in rallying Western support.
He has faced several known attempts on his life since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022.
In August 2023, the Ukrainian Security Service, the SBU, arrested a woman who had been allegedly “gathering intelligence” about a planned visit by the president to the southern region of Mykolaiv, in order to help plan a Russian airstrike.
News of the Polish arrest came just hours after German police said they had arrested two suspected Russian agents in the Bavarian town of Bayreuth.
The two individuals, identified as German-Russian nationals, are accused of plotting sabotage attacks and planning an explosive detonation, according to a statement by the Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office in Karlsruhe.
One of the men had been in contact with a Russian intelligence agent, the statement said, adding that among the potential targets scouted were US army facilities in Germany.
“Our security authorities have prevented possible explosive detonations that were intended to affect and undermine our military aid to Ukraine. This is a particularly serious case of suspected agent activity for (Russian President Vladimir) Putin’s criminal regime,” Minister of the Interior Nancy Faeser said during a press conference in Berlin.
The Russian Embassy in Berlin dismissed the accusations as an “outright provocation,” Russian state news agency TASS reported.(CNN)…[+]