NEW YORK, April 19. /TASS/. An attack on Iran attributed to Israel targeted a military base near the Iranian city of Isfahan, The New York Times reported, citing three unnamed Iranian officials.

According to the newspaper, the attack was carried out with the help of drones, which were presumably launched from Iranian territory and were not detected in time by air defense systems. The sources said that Iranian forces managed to destroy several small drones near the city of Tabriz, about 800 kilometers from Isfahan.

Two Israeli officials confirmed to the newspaper that the Israeli military was behind the attack.

Earlier, ABC television reported, citing a US official, that Israel had launched a missile strike on a site in Iranian territory. CNN said, citing another US official, that the launch was an Israeli response to an Iranian attack on April 13.

Iranian media, for their part, reported that drones were spotted in the skies over Isfahan Province on Friday at around 3:00 a.m. local time (11:30 p.m. GMT on Thursday). According to Iranian media reports, three drones were downed by air defenses in the skies over the city of Isfahan. The Tasnim news agency, in turn, said that there were no missile attacks on Iranian territory. Iranian Army General Siyavush Mihandoust said that the loud sounds recorded in the Iranian city of Isfahan were "due to the work of [Isfahan's] air defenses on suspicious objects" and that no destruction or "accidents" were recorded in the city.