Officials: Israel Launched Drone Attack on Iranian Facility
Facts
- According to senior US intelligence officials, Israel's national intelligence agency, Mossad, was responsible for a drone attack on an Iranian military facility in the city of Isfahan on Saturday, which resulted in a large explosion and prompted an investigation by Iranian officials.
- Iranian state media released footage showing a flash in the sky and emergency vehicles at the scene. The Islamic Republic said it had intercepted drones that struck a military industry target and claimed there were no casualties or serious damage, but this couldn't be independently verified.
- Israel's Channel 12 reported that the site was a weapons production facility for Iran's Shahed-136 drones. The news channel also said the attack drones were launched from an area near the site by “highly-skilled” operators who knew their target well.
- Tehran condemned the drone attack as a 'cowardly' act aimed at creating 'insecurity' in the country. Lawmaker Hossein Mirzaie said on State TV that there was 'strong speculation' that Israel was responsible for the attack. There was no immediate response available from Israeli authorities.
- The alleged Israeli drone strike on Iran is the first known attack since PM Benjamin Netanyahu returned to office, leading the most right-wing government in Israel's history.
- Mykhailo Podolyak, a senior aide to Ukraine's president, linked the targeting of the Iranian weapons production facility to the ongoing war in Ukraine, accusing Iran of supplying Russia with hundreds of killer drones. According to US officials, however, the attack was in response to concerns about Israel's own security.
Sources: New York Times, Reuters, Times of Israel, Al Jazeera, Arab, and Middle East Eeye.
Narratives
- Pro-Iran, as provided by Tehrantimes. This cowardly attack was nothing more than an attempt by Israel to stir up insecurity in Iran, all while distracting from its own internal problems and heightening violence with Palestine. Having faced numerous such attacks from Israel in the past, however, Iran was fortunately well prepared to defend itself.
- Anti-Iran, as provided by Jerusalem post. Though Iranian media want to pretend that the strike was a failure, a mix of Western intelligence sources and foreign sources have reported that it was a major success against the Islamic Republic. Iran will not be allowed to continually stir terror and violence throughout the region, and Israel will make sure that its influence is kept in check.
- Establishment-critical narrative, as provided by Almayadeen. Though Western media have focused on a failed drone attack against an Iranian defense industrial complex, the Israeli strike only hours later that destroyed an Iranian convoy on the Syrian-Iraqi border loaded with food and medicine was completely ignored. Limited strikes like these will not end the resistance to the US and Israel's imperial exploits in the Middle East.