Authorities said early Sunday that drone bombers had targeted an Iranian defense plant in the central city of Isfahan, causing some damage to the plant as regional and international tensions engulfed the Islamic Republic.
Iran’s defense ministry did not provide information on who it suspected carried out the attack, which came after a fire broke out at an oil refinery in the country’s northwest and a magnitude 5.9 earthquake struck nearby, killing three people. .
However, Tehran has become the target of alleged Israeli drone strikes amid a shadow war with its Middle Eastern rival as its nuclear deal with world powers collapsed.
Meanwhile, tensions with neighboring Azerbaijan remain high after a gunman attacked the country’s embassy in Tehran, killing the chief of security and injuring two others.
Details about the attack in Isfahan, which took place around 11:30 p.m. local time on Saturday, are still scarce. The Ministry of Defense said in a statement that three drones were launched at the facility, two of which were successfully shot down.
The third apparently broke through the building, causing “minor damage” to its roof and injuring no one, the ministry said.
— It was a drone, wasn’t it?
The English-language division of Iranian state television Press TV showed a mobile phone video showing the moment the drone crashed into the busy Imam Khomeini Expressway, which leads northwest from Isfahan, one of several ways drivers can reach the holy city of Qom. . and Tehran, the capital of Iran.
A small crowd stood, attracted by anti-aircraft fire, watching as the explosion and sparks hit the dark building.
“Oh my God! It was a drone, wasn’t it?” shouts the man filming. “Yes, it was a drone.”
Those who were there fled after the strike.
This footage of the strike, as well as footage of the aftermath, was consistent with a site on Minu Street in northwestern Isfahan, next to a mall that has a carpet and electronics store.
Iranian defense and nuclear facilities are increasingly being surrounded by commercial real estate and residential areas as the country’s cities continually expand.
Some places also remain incredibly opaque about what they produce, with only a sign bearing the logo of the Ministry of Defense or the Islamic Revolutionary Guard paramilitaries.
The Ministry of Defense only called the site a “workshop”, without specifying what it had made.
Isfahan, about 350 kilometers south of Tehran, is home to both a major air base built for a fleet of US-made F-14 fighter jets and a Nuclear Fuel Research and Production Center.
The attack came after Iran’s intelligence ministry announced in July that it had uncovered a plot to strike secret targets around Isfahan.
The story aired on Iranian state television in October included alleged confessions by alleged members of Komala, a Kurdish opposition party expelled from Iran and living in Iraq, who said they planned to strike a military aerospace facility in Isfahan after training. Israeli intelligence service Mossad.
Activists say Iranian state television has aired hundreds of forced confessions over the past decade. Israeli officials declined to comment on the attack.
Separately, Iranian state television reported on a fire at an oil refinery in an industrial area near the city of Tabriz in the country’s northwest.
It says the cause is still unknown as footage was shown of firefighters attempting to put out the flames. Tabriz is located about 520 km northwest of Tehran.
State television also reported that a 5.9 magnitude earthquake in rural areas of West Azerbaijan province killed three people and injured 816, and damaged buildings in many villages.
