TEHRAN – Some residents of Esfahan Province in central Iran were startled by loud explosions in the early hours of Tuesday. Authorities have since confirmed that the sounds were caused by a test of the region's defense systems. 

In a statement released hours after the sounds were heard, the Saheb al-Zaman headquarters of the Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) clarified that no foreign military activity or Iranian military drills were taking place. The statement specifically attributed the explosions to the defense system test, reaffirming Iran's commitment to safeguarding its airspace.

Esfahan province hosts one of Iran's key nuclear facilities. Following Iran's recent retaliation against the regime, Israel has pledged to take action. Some social media users, particularly those with Israeli affiliations, began to associate the sounds heard on Tuesday with the potential response that Israel had promised.

The IRGC fired approximately 200 ballistic missiles at Israeli positions in the occupied territories on October 1. The move came in response to Israel’s assassination of high-ranking Resistance figures in the past three months. 90% of the Iranian weapons fired at Israeli military bases have reportedly hit their targets with success. 

Tehran has warned Israel that it would carry out harsher attacks should the regime repeat its aggressions.