Rishi plea for calm as tensions surge after explosions at Iran's nuclear hub

WORLD leaders appealed for calm last night following what was thought to be an Israeli retaliatory strike on Iran - sparking fears of an impending violent conflict.

- Michael Knowles

Explosions were reported in the central city of Isfahan, home to a major air base and key nuclear facilities, and at Tabriz in the north.

But Tehran yesterday said it was not planning an immediate military retaliation on the suspected Israeli attack, despite days of sabre-rattling and warnings.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said of the developments: "It wouldn't be right for me to speculate until the facts become clear, and we're working to confirm the details together with allies. We have condemned Iran's reckless and dangerous barrage of missiles against Israel on Saturday, and Israel absolutely has the right to self defence.

"But as I said to Prime Minister Netanyahu when I spoke to him last week, and more generally, significant escalation is not in anyone's interest. What we want to see is calm heads prevail across the region." US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said: "All I can say is that for our part, and for the entire G7, our focus has been on de-escalation and on avoiding a larger conflict.