Iran Holds Unannounced Air Defense Drill over Natanz

A view of the Natanz uranium enrichment facility 250 km (155 miles) south of the Iranian capital Tehran, in this Maxar Technologies satellite image taken last week and obtained by Reuters on April 12, 2021. Satellite image ©2021 Maxar Technologies/Handout via REUTERS
A view of the Natanz uranium enrichment facility 250 km (155 miles) south of the Iranian capital Tehran, in this Maxar Technologies satellite image taken last week and obtained by Reuters on April 12, 2021. Satellite image ©2021 Maxar Technologies/Handout via REUTERS
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Iran Holds Unannounced Air Defense Drill over Natanz

A view of the Natanz uranium enrichment facility 250 km (155 miles) south of the Iranian capital Tehran, in this Maxar Technologies satellite image taken last week and obtained by Reuters on April 12, 2021. Satellite image ©2021 Maxar Technologies/Handout via REUTERS
A view of the Natanz uranium enrichment facility 250 km (155 miles) south of the Iranian capital Tehran, in this Maxar Technologies satellite image taken last week and obtained by Reuters on April 12, 2021. Satellite image ©2021 Maxar Technologies/Handout via REUTERS

Iranian air defenses fired a missile as part of an exercise on Saturday over the central town of Natanz, which houses nuclear installations, state TV reported, after local residents reported hearing a large blast.

The TV said air defense units fired the missile to test a rapid reaction force over Natanz.

"Such exercises are carried out in a completely secure environment ... and there is no cause for concern," Army spokesman Shahin Taqikhani told the TV.

Iranian news agencies earlier reported a large explosion in the sky above Natanz, but said there was no official explanation of the incident.

The semi-official Fars news agency quoted its reporter in nearby Badroud as saying a short blast was heard which was accompanied by an intense light in the sky.



10 People Injured in New York City Shooting Incident

Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images
Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images
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10 People Injured in New York City Shooting Incident

Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images
Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images

Ten people were injured in a mass shooting in the New York City borough of Queens late on New Year's Day, the New York Police Department said in a news briefing early on Thursday.
The injured in the incident outside a private events club late on Wednesday evening included six females and four males and all were expected to recover, police said.
The incident occurred when 3-4 males opened fire toward a crowd outside the club, the NYPD said. Users took to social media expressing shock at the incident and sharing pictures of police deployment at the site.
Police ruled out the possibility of a terrorist attack.
The incident came hours after two other acts of violence elsewhere in the US on New Year's Day. In New Orleans, a truck plowed into a street crowded with New Year's revelers, killing 15 people, and in Las Vegas a Tesla truck exploded outside a Trump hotel in Las Vegas, killing one person and injuring seven.
US authorities were scrambling to track down suspects related to the New Orleans and Las Vegas incidents and also investigating possible terrorism angles.