Iran plays down impact of Israeli airstrikes but remains on high alert

Response raises hopes Tehran may have shelved reprisal threats and that escalation can be avoided

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Tehran has played down the impact of Israeli airstrikes carried out against Iran, raising hopes that a cycle of escalatory state-on-state attacks can be averted – and that previous Iranian threats to retaliate harshly will be shelved.

But Iran remains on alert in case the attacks, during which explosions were reported in the sky over the cities of Isfahan and Tabriz, do not mark the end Israel’s response to the massive missile and drone attack launched by Tehran last Saturday night.