According to an exclusive report by The Wall Street Journal, Israel carried out a drone strike on an Iranian military center for research and development late Saturday night.
The attack targeted what some sources said was the Institute of Materials and Energy in Esfahan and what the Ministry of Defense described as “small drones”. A civilian video sent to Iran International showed the explosion, but the government claims air defenses fended off the attack.
The WSJ quoted an unnamed US official People familiar with the operation that the drone strike was carried out by Israel.
However, small or quadcopter drones cannot fly hundreds of kilometers to reach Isfahan, which is located in central Iran. If the attack actually took place with small drones, the operators would have been on the ground in Iran.
Since July 2020, Israel has begun targeting Iran’s nuclear and classified targets, often with devastating results through sabotage. Therefore, it was assumed that there are agents operating in Iran.
Saturday’s attack comes as the United States and Israel expand close military cooperation, including exercises days earlier, and discuss ways to counter Iran’s capabilities.
Tehran’s supply of large Kamikaze Shahed-136 drones with 45kg warheads to Russia is a concern for the US and NATO. Russia has used hundreds of these drones to target civilian infrastructure in Ukraine.
The WSJ Journal quoted Israeli Commander-in-Chief Herzi Haveli last week that Israel and the United States are “preparing for the worst.”
