Iran activates air defense systems after reports of an explosion

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Iran activated air defense systems in several provinces, according to the official IRNA news agency, after reporting an explosion near the city of Isfahan.

Tasnim news agency, close to Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards, reported the explosion. Isfahan hosts a major Iranian military base.

Flights in Tehran, the capital, and the cities of Isfahan and Shiraz were suspended, IRNA said.

Oil futures jumped on Friday following the reports. Brent crude futures, the international oil benchmark, rose 3.9% to $90.52 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate, the U.S. gauge, rose 4.0% to $86.04 per barrel.

The White House and Pentagon declined to comment.

Tensions are high in the Middle East over possible Israeli retaliation after Iran fired more than 300 armed drones and missiles at the Jewish state last weekend, the first time Tehran has targeted the country directly from its own soil.

Iran said the attack was a response to the attack on its embassy in Damascus that killed senior military commanders, which Tehran blamed on Israel.

Israeli officials have said they will respond, despite Western calls for restraint, the impact it could have on the conflict in Gaza and the possibility that any retaliation could push the Middle East toward all-out war.

This is a developing story

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