Israel may be behind drone attack on Iranian factory: US

Israel appears to be behind an overnight drone attack on a military factory in Iran, a US official said Sunday.

Iran claimed to have intercepted drones that hit a military industry target near the central city of Isfahan and said there were no casualties or serious damage.

The extent of damage could not be independently determined. Iranian state media released images showing a flash in the sky and emergency vehicles at the scene.

An Israeli army spokesman declined to comment. Israel has long said it is willing to strike Iranian targets if diplomacy fails to curb Tehran’s nuclear or missile programs, but it has a policy of not commenting on specific incidents.

Pentagon spokesman Brigadier General Patrick Ryder said no US military forces were involved in attacks in Iran, but declined to comment further.

A US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters it appeared Israel was involved in the attack. Several other US officials declined to comment beyond saying that Washington played no role in the episode.

Tehran did not formally assign blame for what Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian called a “cowardly” attack aimed at creating “insecurity” in Iran. But state TV carried comments from a lawmaker, Hossein Mirzaie, saying there was “strong speculation” that Israel was behind the attack.

The attack came amid tension between Iran and the West over Tehran’s nuclear activity and its supply of weapons – including long-range “suicide drones” – for Russia’s war against Ukraine, as well as months of anti-government demonstrations in House.

The extent of the damage could not be independently confirmed. Iran’s Defense Ministry said the blast caused only minor damage and no casualties.

“Such actions will not affect our experts’ determination to make progress in our peaceful nuclear work,” Amirabdollahian told reporters in televised remarks.

An Israeli strike on Iran would be the first under far-right Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu since he returned to office last month.

In Ukraine, which accuses Iran of supplying Russia with hundreds of drones to strike civilian targets in Ukrainian cities far from the front, a senior adviser to President Volodymyr Zelenskiy linked the incident directly to the war in the country.

“Explosive night in Iran,” wrote Mykhailo Podolyak on Twitter. “I warned you.”

Iran has acknowledged sending drones to Russia but says they were sent before Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine last year. Moscow denies that its forces use Iranian drones in Ukraine, although many have been shot down and recovered there.

Iran has accused Israel in the past of planning attacks using agents inside Iranian territory. In July, Tehran said it arrested a sabotage team made up of Kurdish militants working for Israel who planned to blow up a “sensitive” military industry center in Isfahan.

Several Iranian nuclear facilities are located in Isfahan province, including Natanz, the centerpiece of Iran’s uranium enrichment program, which it accuses Israel of sabotaging in 2021. There have been a series of explosions and fires around Iranian military, nuclear and industrial facilities in the last years.

Negotiations between Iran and world powers to revive the 2015 nuclear deal have been stalled since September. Under the pact, abandoned by Washington during the administration of Donald Trump in 2018, Tehran agreed to limit nuclear work in exchange for the easing of economic sanctions imposed against the country.

Iran’s clerical rulers have also faced internal turmoil in recent months, with a crackdown on widespread demonstrations spurred by the death in custody of a woman arrested for allegedly violating the strict Islamic dress code.