European Commission head urges all sides to 'refrain from further action' after reported Israeli attack on Iran

By Beyza Binnur Donmez

GENEVA (AA) – European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Friday called on Israel and Iran to avoid escalating the ongoing tension following the reports of an Israeli attack on Iran.

"We have to do everything possible that all sides restrained from the escalation in that region," von der Leyen said during her joint press briefing with Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo.

"It is absolutely necessary that the region stays stable and that all sides refrain from further action," she added.

Sounds of heavy explosions were heard in at least two Iranian cities in the wee hours of Friday morning amid an alleged Israeli attack inside Iran.

Iranian authorities, however, downplayed the incidents and said the sound of explosions in the central Iranian city of Isfahan and the northwestern city of Tabriz was the result of Iranian air defense systems firing at “suspicious objects,” as reported by state media.

Officials insisted that all military and nuclear facilities located in and around the city of Isfahan were safe and no damage had been caused.

Immediately after the reports of the explosions, flights to the cities of Isfahan and Shiraz from Tehran were suspended by the country’s airport authority.

The flights later resumed at the Imam Khomeini International Airport and Mehrabad International Airport, according to the Iran Airports and Air Navigation Company.

The explosions came amid heightened tensions between arch-foes Iran and Israel after Saturday’s unprecedented attack by Tehran involving hundreds of missiles and drones at Israel, which Iran said was in response to the April 1 attack on the Iranian Consulate in Syria.

Israel has vowed a military response to the Iranian weekend attack despite many Western countries urging restraint and de-escalation of tensions.