Discussion ‘leans more towards infiltration than attack’ says anonymous Iranian official as US says Israel has carried out military operation

• Full report: Israel has carried out airstrikes on Iran, US officials say
• What we know so far about Israel’s strike on Iran
• What’s in Isfahan? The city home to Iranian nuclear facilities

It’s 7:24am in Tehran and 6:54 In Tel Aviv. Let’s get a reminder of what we know so far:

US officials have confirmed that Israel has carried out military operations against Iran but did not describe those operations.

The Israeli military has told news agencies including Agence France-Presse and Associated Press: “We don’t have a comment at this time.”

Iran’s state media reported explosions in the central province of Isfahan Friday

Air defence systems over several Iranian cities were activated, state media reported, after the country’s official broadcaster said explosions were heard near the city of Isfahan.

Iran’s Fars news agency reported “three explosions” were heard near the Shekari army airbase in the north-west of Isfahan province, while Iran’s space agency spokesperson Hossein Dalirian said “several” drones had been “successfully shot down”.

Nuclear facilities in Isfahan were reported to be “completely secure”, Iran’s Tasnim news agency reported, citing “reliable sources”.

Flights were suspended across swathes of Iran on Friday. “Iran’s air defence has been activated in the skies of several provinces of the country,” Tehran’s official IRNA news agency said.

Mehr news agency reported that “flights to Tehran, Isfahan and Shiraz, and airports in the west, northwest and southwest have been suspended.”

Flight-tracking software showed commercial flights avoiding western Iran, including Isfahan, and skirting Tehran to the north and east.

There was no immediate comment from Dubai’s Emirates airline, which was operating several of the planes.

Blasts were also reported in southern Syria, according to a local activist group. “There were strikes on a Syrian army radar position,” said Rayan Maarouf, who runs the Suwayda24 anti-government website that covers news from Sweida province in the south, reports AFP.

Oil prices surged more than three per cent in early Asian trade on Friday after the reports of explosions.

Iranian official indicates no ‘immediate’ plan for retaliation after explosions reported in sky over Isfahan and Tabriz

• Middle East crisis: live updates
• What we know so far
• What’s in Isfahan? The city home to Iranian nuclear facilities

US officials have confirmed that Israel has carried out airstrikes against Iran, as explosions were reported in the sky over the cities of Isfahan and Tabriz, while the Iranian government sought to play down the scale of the attack.

As an Iranian official indicated that it had no “immediate” plan for retaliation, calls mounted internationally – including from the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen – for Israel and Iran to de-escalate their confrontation.

Reported Israeli drone strike on Isfahan may signal that this widening conflict has become more dynamic

• Middle East crisis – live updates
• What we know so far about Israel’s strike on Iran

While the details remain vague, and Iranian denials strong, it seems very likely, given past history and strong comments from US officials, that a limited Israeli drone strike was launched against the Iranian city of Isfahan on Friday morning.

Isfahan is significant for its military-industrial facilities, the presence of an important facility in Iran’s nuclear programme and a major airbase hosting the Islamic Republic’s ageing fleet of F-14 “Tomcats”, making the importance of any strike, whether carried out from beyond Iran’s borders or from within but backed by Israel, more than symbolic.

PM criticised for personal independence payment review amid ‘spiralling’ disability welfare bill

Rishi Sunak is considering withdrawing a major cash disability benefit from some people with mental health conditions, prompting claims he has launched a “full-on assault on disabled people”.

The prime minister announced fresh curbs on disability benefits on Friday, saying he wanted to explore whether some cash payments to claimants with mental health conditions could be replaced by treatment or access to services.

Shifting responsibility for issuing fit notes, formerly known as sicknotes, away from GPs to other “work and health professionals” in order to encourage more people to return to work.

Confirming plans to legislate “in the next parliament” to close benefit claims for anyone who has been claiming for 12 months but is not complying with conditions on accepting available work.

Asking more people on universal credit working part-time to look for more work by increasing the earnings threshold from £743 a month to £892 a month, so people paid below this amount have to seek extra hours.

Confirming plans to tighten the work capability assessment to require more people with “less severe conditions” to seek some forms of employment.

Katie Fieldhouse says Conservative party failed to act after she reported incident in early January

The Conservative activist who has accused a Tory MP of making a late-night demand for money has said she is appalled by the party’s response.

Katie Fieldhouse has said Mark Menzies called her one night in December at 3.15am asking for £5,000 to pay “bad people” who had detained him in a flat and were not letting him leave.

Prime minister says his ‘patience has run thin’ over failure to get deportation plans through parliament

Rishi Sunak is arguing that not getting people into work is an “irresponsible burden” on future generations and taxpayers. He says:

We risk not only letting those people down [the people who are long-term sickness benefits], but creating a deep sense of unfairness amongst those whose taxes fund our social safety net in a way that risks undermining trust and consent in that very system.

We can’t stand for that. And of course, the situation as it is, is economically unsustainable. We can’t lose so many people from our workforce whose contributions could help to drive growth.

Swifties take to social media to dissect lyrics and celebrate Swift’s 11th album on Friday as the musician releases 15 more songs

• Breakups, fantasies and her most cutting lyrics: inside The Tortured Poets Department
• The Tortured Poets Department review – fame, fans and former flames in the line of fire

The Tortured Poets Department is just out but it is already splitting Taylor Swift fans – between those who have already listened to it after it leaked online early, and those who refused to listen out of loyalty to their favourite singer.

Swift’s 11th studio album was released on Friday but all 16 tracks and lyrics began appearing on social media on Wednesday. Some fans – known as Swifties – refused to listen to the leaked album, insisting that “true fans” would wait for the official release, while others shared false links to the leak in attempts to stop people finding it.

Campaigners say underclaiming is a result of restrictions on taking on paid work and harsh penalties for accidental rule breaches

As many as half a million unpaid carers in the UK who look after frail, ill and disabled loved ones are failing to claim the £4,200-a-year carer’s allowance despite experiencing high levels of poverty, according to new estimates.

Campaigners said unpaid carers may have not claimed the benefit partly because of the strict limits dictating the amount of paid work they can undertake on top of their care duties, and the harsh penalties they face if they breach those rules.

In a joint statement released by G7 foreign ministers say they are exploring ‘avenues to aid Ukraine in obtaining compensation from Russia’

“Russia must be held accountable. Ukraine urgently requires more air defence support!” wrote the EU’s ambassador in Kyiv, Katarina Mathernova.

Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Ukraine’s president, visited the Donetsk region today.

Acoba chair Eric Pickles says rules on post-ministerial jobs are ‘unenforceable’ after former PM avoids answering questions

Boris Johnson was “evasive”, “avoided answering specific questions” and has “refused to be open” about his relationship with a hedge fund on whose behalf he met the Venezuelan president, a Whitehall watchdog has said.

Johnson met Nicolás Maduro in early February in a paid role as a consultant to Merlyn Advisors, according to reports. This raised questions for the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (Acoba) which is responsible for providing advice on post-ministerial roles for two years after a minister leaves office.