Explosions heard in Iran on Khamenei’s birthday amid alleged Israeli attack

ISTANBUL

Explosions were heard inside Iran early Friday amid reports of an alleged Israeli attack as the country marks the birthday of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Born on April 19, 1939, Khamenei turns 85 on Friday.

Iranian state media said air defenses were activated in several cities, including the central province of Isfahan.

The semi-official Mehr News Agency said three drones were destroyed in the skies above Isfahan.

Iran's state television confirmed "massive explosions" in Isfahan, but said no nuclear facilities were affected or targeted in the central city.

There was no Israeli comment yet on reports of launching attacks inside Iran.

“We don't celebrate his (Khamenei’s) birthday really,” Iranian academic Setareh Sadeqi told Anadolu from Isfahan province.

“It's just an insignificant coincidence,” he added.

Some media reports, however, put Khamenei's date of birth on July 16, 1939.

Khamenei, who served as the country’s third president from 1981 to 1989, is Iran’s longest-serving supreme leader.

The supreme leader is the highest authority in the country with wide influence over civil and security establishments.

Khamenei has never allowed Iranians to celebrate his birthday.

According to his personal website, Khamenei had expressed displeasure over an event in 2007 that celebrated his birthday.

“This is wrong; this birthday and similar events are not worth celebrating. The organizers of this event are responsible for having wasted time and public property,” he said.

“I'll never be thankful to the person celebrating my birthday and will only consider him responsible for this act of wasting.”

A similar event to mark the supreme leader’s birthday was canceled in 2013, whose organizers included the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) in the central city of Shiraz.

Tension escalated between Iran and Israel after Tehran launched a drone and missile attack on Saturday in response to the April 1 attack on its consulate in Syria, in which seven military advisers were killed.

Israel has vowed a military response to Iran’s weekend attack.