Update: 19/04/2024 08:00
Issued by: 19/04/2024, 04:49
Tehran – An Israeli attack on Iran early this morning hit an airbase near the central Iranian city of Isfahan, according to The New York Times (NYT). Iranian media reported explosions as a result of air defense work. The potential extent of damage is not yet known. Middle Eastern countries have temporarily suspended airport operations in some areas.
According to the NYT, which refers to information from a pair of Israeli and a trio of Iranian officials, it was an attack by small drones that may have taken off from the territory of Iran. According to Iranian officials, another group of small drones was shot down in the area of the city of Tabriz in the northwest of the country.
Iranian agencies said explosions were reported from both cities. According to them, the nuclear facilities were not affected. According to Reuters, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) also confirmed that they are not damaged. Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency reported three explosions northwest of Isfahan, later writing about three drones shot down by air defenses. One of the senior Iranian commanders, according to Reuters, said that the “noise” over Isfahan was caused by air defenses that targeted “one suspicious object”.
There are no official damage reports yet. Iranian officials say no missiles were fired at Iran. Fox News, citing a military source, said it was a “limited attack” in which the US did not participate, although it was informed in advance.
The tense situation in the Middle East became even more acute after Iran directly attacked Israel for the first time last weekend. He sent 300 rockets and attack drones at it, Israel and its allies destroyed practically all of them, the damage was minimal.
The Iranian strike was in response to an attack on the Iranian consulate in Damascus attributed to Israel that killed several members of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, including two generals, on April 1.
Bitcoin heads lower after news of Israeli attack on Iran pushes gold higher
Traditional assets such as gold, oil, the Japanese yen, the Swiss franc and US Treasuries rose after today’s news of an Israeli attack on Iran. On the other hand, Asian shares and bitcoin are weakening. Markets initially reacted sharply to the escalation of the Middle East conflict, but later erased some losses as few details of the attack emerged and an Iranian official told Reuters there was no missile attack.
The Swiss franc, a traditional safe-haven currency, was 0.35 percent higher at 0.9089 per dollar by 07:30 CEST, having gained a percent in earlier trading. The Swiss franc’s movements were stronger against the euro, with the common currency at the same time 0.4 percent lower at 0.96685 francs, after earlier falling as much as 1.5 percent.
The Japanese yen rose about 0.2 percent to 154.38 yen per dollar. It added more than 0.6 percent in immediate response to news of the attack.
“It’s quite clear that the market is nervous,” said Bank of Singapore analyst Moh Siong Sim. “I think the markets are in run-to-safety mode at this stage… Right now we’re still in a situation where we know something happened. But we have to understand the level of retaliation,” he added.
The world’s largest cryptocurrency, bitcoin, fell by more than five percent overnight and briefly fell below the level of $60,000 (CZK 1.4 million). Around 07:30 SELČ was already trading above $62,000.
Gold climbed to a new high in response to news of the attack. But now it is trading below the $2,400 (roughly CZK 57,000) per troy ounce (31.1 grams), which it surpassed last week.
Oil prices added more than three percent and Brent North Sea crude futures crossed the $90 per barrel mark. But later they weakened to a level of around 89 dollars.
Stock indexes in Japan, Hong Kong and South Korea lost around two percent after the news from Iran. MSCI’s broader index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan is on track for its worst week since June 23, 2023, losing nearly four percent so far.
