Israel fired 3 missiles in limited strike on Iran, senior US official says

IRAN -- Israel, early Friday morning local time, launched a retaliatory strike against Iran, a senior U.S. official told ABC News.

Three missiles were fired from Israeli fighter aircraft outside of Iran, according to a senior U.S. official.

The Israelis were targeting an air defense radar site near Isfahan that's part of the protection of the Natanz nuclear facility, the official said. The first assessment is that the strike took out the site, but assessment hasn't been completed, the official said.

The strike was intended to send a signal to Iran that Israel has these capabilities, but was not looking to escalate the situation, according to the official.

The strike followed Iran's attack last Saturday, where the country sent a volley of more than 300 uncrewed drones and missiles toward targets throughout the country, Israeli military officials previously said. All but a few were intercepted by Israel and its allies, including the United States, officials said.

Iran's attack came more than six months after Hamas terrorists invaded Israel on Oct. 7, after which the Israeli military began its bombardment of the Gaza Strip.

Meanwhile, the foreign ministers at the G7 meeting in Capri, Italy, issued a lengthy statement condemning Iran's weekend attack on Israel.

We, the G7 Foreign Ministers of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States of America, and the High Representative of the European Union, condemn in the strongest terms Iran's direct and unprecedented attack against Israel of April 13-14, which Israel defeated with the help of its partners. This was a dangerous escalation, as Iran fired hundreds of ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and drones," the leaders said.

"We will hold the Iranian government accountable for its malicious and destabilizing actions and we stand ready to adopt further sanctions or take other measures, now and in response to further destabilizing initiatives," the leaders said.

They added, "In light of reports of strikes on April 19th (from Israel to Iran), we urge all parties to work to prevent further escalation."

The G7 leaders also called on Israel to do more to allow humanitarian aid into Gaza.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the country's war cabinet have met several times since the Iran strikes, and as ABC News previously reported, at least two strikes were previously aborted.

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Iran's nuclear sites were not damaged by the strike, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

In a statement released on social media, IAEA chief Rafael Grossi says he "continues to call for extreme restraint from everybody and reiterates that nuclear facilities should never be a target in military conflicts."

On Friday, United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken denied any U.S. involvement in Israel's retaliatory strike on Iran.

Blinken was asked at a press conference if Israel told the United States in advance of the strikes in Iran.

"I'm not going to respond," Blinken said. He went on to say that "the U.S. was not involved in any U.S. offensive."

After suspending flights at several airports in Iran following reports of an explosion, Iranian state media said operations have resumed.

This is a developing story and will continue to be updated.