Live updates: Israel assessing damage from limited strike in Iran

Israel’s long-term credit rating is being downgraded by S&P, which cited the risk of military escalation with Iran. It is the second major U.S. credit ratings agency to do so.

There was an apparent drone attack at a major air base and a nuclear site near the central city of Isfahan early this morning, which is suspected of being part of an Israeli retaliation for Tehran’s unprecedented drone-and-missile assault on the country days ago.

S&P’s downgrade was issued shortly before the strike in Iran and almost three months after Moody’s, another major U.S. credit agency, downgraded Israel’s rating because of o the “ongoing military conflict with Hamas.”

S&P Global Ratings lowered its long-term foreign and local currency sovereign credit ratings on Israel to ‘A+’ from ‘AA-’ and the short-term ratings to ‘A-1’ from ‘A-1+.’

Israel fired three air-launched ballistic missiles into Iran overnight, targeting an Iranian airbase, according to officials familiar with the operation. 

The officials rejected reports that Israel also struck a target near Baghdad as part of last night’s response, however, missile parts found on the ground in Iraq were related to Israel’s strikes on Iran, they say.

The officials said that part of an Israeli missile that was being fired into Iran fell just outside Baghdad when the missile separated after launch. There was not an explosion, just a part of the missile body that fell from the sky.

BAGHDAD — Remnants of a missile were found today near Latifiya, southwest of Baghdad.

It wasn’t immediately clear whether the missile was part of an Israeli attack on Iran or part of last weekend’s Iranian attack on Israel. In photographs from the scene published by local media, it appeared to be a air-to-surface missile. There were no reports of Iran using air-to-surface missiles in Saturday’s barrage, which included more than 300 drones, ballistic missiles and cruise missiles.

Tehran launched the attack in retaliation for a suspected Israeli strike in Syria on April 1 that killed two Iranian generals in an Iranian consular building.

Hezbollah released five statements today saying it targeted Israeli soldiers and equipment.

Israeli soldiers were targeted at posts in Bayad Blida, Ruwaisat Al-Alam and Shebaa Farms. "Espionage equipment" was struck in Bayad Blida, according to Hezbollah.

NBC News could not independently confirm the statements.

The United States told the Group of Seven foreign ministers today that it received “last-minute” information from Israel about a drone action in Iran, but didn’t participate in the apparent attack, officials said.

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, who chaired the meeting of ministers of industrialized countries, said the United States provided the information at a morning session that was changed at the last minute to address the suspected attack.

Tajani said the U.S. informed the G7 ministers that it had been “informed at the last minute” by Israel about the drones. “But there was no sharing of the attack by the U.S. It was a mere information.”

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken declined to comment on the assertion, but emphasized that the U.S. was not involved in any attack and was committed to working for a “de-escalation” in the region.

“I’m not going to speak to that except to say that the United States has not been involved in any offensive operations,” Blinken said.

United Airlines is canceling its daily flight from Newark, New Jersey, to Tel Aviv until May 2 following Israel's retaliatory strike on Iran.

The airline's second scheduled flight from Newark to Tel Aviv is canceled until May 18. United's flights from Newark to Tel Aviv are its only flights to Israel, a spokesperson said.

"We continue to closely monitor the situation and will make decisions on upcoming flights with a focus on the safety of our customers and crews," United Airlines said in a statement.

Jordan's Minister of Foreign Affairs Ayman Safadi said in a statement that the "Israeli-Iranian escalation must stop" and attention should not be diverted from Israel's actions in Gaza.

"We condemn all actions that lead to a regional war," he wrote on X. "The Israeli-Iranian escalation must stop, and efforts must remain and focus on ending the brutal Israeli aggression on Gaza. This is the priority now, and the world’s attention must not be allowed to be diverted from this aggression and efforts to stop it immediately."

Safadi reiterated in a phone call with the Iranian Minister of Foreign Affairs Hussein Amir-Abdollahian that Jordan will not allow Iran or Israel to violate its airspace to target each other, according to a statement from the minister's office.

Safadi said in the statement that Jordan won't allow itself "to be referred to a battlefield between Iran and Israel, endangering its security and the safety of its citizens."

Syria's defense ministry said today that Israel launched missiles against air defense positions in the south of the country.

The strikes resulted in “material losses,” the state-run Sana news agency reported, citing a military source. It did not say where exactly the attack took place.

The report from Syria came after Israel struck Iran in the early hours of the morning.

France is calling for de-escalation in the Middle East crisis, Deputy French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said today.

“All I can say is that France’s position is to call on all actors for de-escalation and restraint,” Barrot told Sud Radio when asked about the strikes on Iran.