Khamenei thanks Iran armed forces for attack on Israel

Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has thanked the country's armed forces for their operation against Israel and urged them to "ceaselessly pursue military innovation and learn the enemy's tactics", Iran's official news agency reports.

Tehran openly targeted Israel for the first time on April 13 with more than 300 missiles and drones in what it said was retaliation for Israel's suspected deadly bombing of its embassy compound in Damascus on April 1.

"How many missiles were launched and how many of them hit their target is not the primary question - what really matters is that Iran demonstrated its willpower during that operation," Khamenei said on Sunday.

Early on Friday, explosions echoed over the Iranian city of Isfahan in what sources said was an Israeli attack, but Tehran played down the incident and said it had no plans for retaliation - a response that appeared gauged towards averting region-wide war.

"In the recent operation, the armed forces managed to minimise costs and maximise gains," Khamenei added, urging military officials to "ceaselessly pursue military innovation and learn the enemy's tactics".