The New York Times says an explosion near an air base in Iran on Friday damaged an air defense system that covers an area hosting nuclear facilities.

The major US paper on Saturday cited Western and Iranian officials who said that an Israeli weapon deployed in a retaliatory strike against Iran damaged a defense system responsible for detecting and destroying aerial threats near Natanz in the central province of Isfahan.

The report quoted the Western officials as saying the strike was "calculated to deliver a message to Iran that Israel could bypass Iran's defense systems undetected and paralyze them."

Iranian media reported on Friday that there was an explosion near an air base in Isfahan, and that several small-size drones were shot down.
Israel and Iran continue retaliatory strikes against each other. However, both parties are apparently trying to avoid having the situation escalate into a large-scale armed conflict.

Observers say that Israel sought to use Friday's attack to keep Iran in check by displaying its advanced military capabilities.

Meanwhile, an Iran-backed Shia Muslim militia group in Iraq, known as the Popular Mobilization Forces, said on social media on Saturday that a blast occurred at its base about 50 kilometers south of the capital, Baghdad.

Reuters news agency quoted hospital staff as saying one person was killed and six others were injured.

Concerns are growing over a further destabilization of the Middle East situation.