Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamanei.
Anadolu Agency | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images
Drones carrying bombs overnight targeted an Iranian arms factory in downtown Isfahan, authorities said on Sunday morning, causing damage to the factory amid regional tensions and the country’s growing international involvement.
Iran’s Defense Ministry has not provided any information on what it suspects to have carried out the drone attack, which took place when a fire broke out at a refinery separately in northwestern Iran and a 5. 9 magnitude earthquake struck nearby, killing three people.
its rivals in the Middle East because the nuclear deal with world powers has collapsed.
Meanwhile, tensions also persisted in neighboring Azerbaijan after a gunman attacked the country’s embassy in Tehran, killing a security chief and wounding two others.
Details of the Isfahan attack, which took place around 11:30 p.m. Saturday, remained scarce.
A statement from the Department of Defense described that three drones were launched into the facility, two of which were successfully shot down.
A third is said to have run through the building and been rammed, leaving the roof “slightly damaged” and no one injured, the ministry said.
The English-language branch of Iran’s state television, Press TV, has released a cellphone video that appears to show the moment the drone crashed on the busy Imam Khomeini Highway, which runs northwest of Isfahan, one of the many access routes for Motorists visit the holy cities of Qom and Tehran, the capital of A small crowd gathered, lured by the anti-aircraft fire, to watch as the explosion and sparks hit the darkened building.
“Oh my God! That was a drone, wasn’t it?” the man filming shouts. “Yeah, it was a drone attack.”
Those there fled after the strike.
That strike footage, as well as footage of the aftermath reviewed by The Associated Press, matched a site on Menu Street in northwestern Isfahan, near a shopping center that includes a carpet and electronics store.
Iran’s defense and nuclear sites are finding themselves surrounded by commercial properties and residential neighborhoods as the country’s cities continue to expand outward. Some places remain incredibly vague about what they produce as well, just signs bearing the logo of the Ministry of Defense or the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard.
The Ministry of Defense known as the web website online simplest a “workshop”, with out explaining what it did. Isfahan, about 350 kilometers (215 miles) south of Tehran, is home to a large airbase For its fleet of American-made F-14 fighter jets and its nuclear gasoline studies and manufacturing center. The attack comes after Iran’s intelligence ministry claimed in July to have foiled a plot to target sensitive sites around Isfahan.
A segment aired on Iranian state television in October allegedly contained confessions by alleged members of Komala, an anti-Kurdish party exiled from Iran and now living in Iraq, that they had been killed by Israelis. After receiving training planned to target a military aerospace facility in Isfahan.
Israeli officials declined to comment on the attack.
Israeli officials rarely admit to operations conducted by the country’s covert military units or the Mossad intelligence agency. However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who recently took over as prime minister, has long viewed Iran as the greatest threat to his country.
The United States and Israel have just conducted their largest-ever military exercise amid tensions with Iran. Meanwhile, tensions between Azerbaijan and Iran remain high as Azerbaijan and Armenia vie for the Nagorno-Karabakh region.
Iran also wants to maintain its 44-kilometer (27-mile) border with landlocked Armenia, which could be jeopardized if Azerbaijan seizes new territory through military action. Iran began military exercises near its border with Azerbaijan in October.
Azerbaijan also has close ties with Israel, which has enraged Iranian extremists and bought Israeli drones for its army.
Anwar Gargash, a senior Emirati diplomat, warned online that the attack on Isfahan is a new development in Israel represents the “dangerous escalation that the region has experienced”. “The United Arab Emirates has been the target of missile and drone attacks over the past year, claims by Iran-backed Yemen-based Houthi rebels. “It is not in the interests of the region and its future,” tweeted Gargash Although the region’s problems are complex, there is no alternative but dialogue.
Additionally, Iranian state officials reported on television that at an oil refinery in an industrial area near the northwestern city of Tabriz, a Fire broke out. He said the cause was not yet known as footage was shown of firefighters trying to put out the blaze.
Tabriz is located about 520 kilometers (325 miles) northwest of Tehran. State television also reported that a 5.9 magnitude earthquake in a rural area of West Azerbaijan province killed three people and injured 816 others, damaging many buildings villages were destroyed. Iran’s theocratic government faces both domestic and international challenges as its nuclear program rapidly enriches uranium closer than ever to levels since the collapse of the nuclear deal with world powers.
Nationwide protests have rocked the country since the September death of Mahsa Amini, a Kurdish-Iranian woman in the custody of the country’s Deputy Police Force. The rial fell to new lows against the US dollar.
Meanwhile, Iran continues to arm Russia with a bomb-carrying drone that Moscow uses to attack power plants and civilian targets in Ukraine. Israel is suspected of carrying out a series of attacks against Iran, including the attack on its underground nuclear facility at Natanz in April 2021, which damaged its centrifuges. Scientists.
Israeli officials rarely acknowledge operations conducted by the country’s secret military units or the Mossad intelligence agency. However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who recently took over as prime minister, has long viewed Iran as the biggest threat to his country.
The US and Israel have just conducted their largest ever military exercise amid tensions with Iran. Meanwhile, tensions remain high between Azerbaijan and Iran, between Azerbaijan and Armenia over the Nagorno-Karabakh region.
Iran also wants to maintain its 44-kilometre (27 mi) border with landlocked Armenia, which could be under threat if Azerbaijan seizes new territory through military action. Sergeant; Iran began military exercises near its border with Azerbaijan in October.
Azerbaijan also has close ties with Israel, which has angered Iranian extremists and bought Israeli drones for its military. Anwar Gargash, a senior Emirati diplomat, warned online that the Isfahan attack was a new development in Israel that represented an “alarming escalation experienced in the region”.
The United Arab Emirates has been the target of missile and drone attacks over the past year, according to what Iran-backed Yemen-based southern rebels have said. “This is not in the interest of the region or its future,” tweeted Gar Gash. The region’s problems are complex, there is no substitute for dialogue.
