TEHRAN: Explosions rocked Iran's central Isfahanprovince on Friday (Apr 19), according to state media, while US officials told American news outlets that Israel carried out a retaliatory strike on the Islamic Republic.

The attack comes less than a week after Tehran launched a barrageof more than 300 drones and missiles in its first direct assault on Israel's soil. That unprecedented onslaught was itself a reprisal for an earlier strike in Syria widely blamed on Israel.

The escalating tit-for-tat between the arch-rivals has prompted global powers to urge caution and appeal on both sides to not allow frictions underlying the war in Gaza to unfurl into a wider conflict across the Middle East.