Bomb-carrying drones attack Iranian ammunition factory

‘Such actions will not affect our experts’ determination to progress in our peaceful nuclear work’

AN IRANIAN weapons factory came under attack by bomb-laden drones late on Saturday night, the country’s defence ministry said, amid tensions over Tehran’s nuclear ambitions.

Three quadcopter drones attacked the military site in the central city of Isfahan at about 11.30pm, the ministry said, claiming its air defences had thwarted the attack and shot down one of them, with the other two exploding.

Videos shared by Telegram accounts affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) showed a large explosion erupt above a building. A bystander in the video, which was filmed from across the street, can be heard saying “it’s a drone” and describing the sound of anti-aircraft fire.

Tehran did not immediately assign blame for the attack, but has reported a series of attacks on its defence facilities in recent years that are believed to have been carried out by Israel as part of its shadow war with Iran.

While Israel declined to comment on the attack, The Wall Street Journal claimed that the strike was Israeli based on information from US officials.

Hossein Amir-abdollahian, Iran’s foreign minister, said yesterday that the “cowardly” act aimed to destabilise Iran, but would not succeed.

“Such actions will not impact our experts’ determination to progress in our peaceful nuclear work,” he said.

The attack comes amid heightened tensions between the West and Iran over the collapse of the Iranian nuclear deal and Russia’s use of Tehran’s Shahed drones in its attacks on Ukraine.

An adviser to Volodymyr Zelensky said: “Ukraine did warn you.” The attack was only one incident in an uneasy night in the Islamic Republic.

A 5.9 magnitude earthquake in the north-west of the country injured more than 800 people and killed three, while an oil refinery caught ablaze in Tabriz.

Israel rarely comments on its operations inside Iran, but if confirmed it would mark the first covert operation by Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, since he retook office last month.

Naftali Bennett, who served in between Mr Netanyahu’s administrations, openly took the fight on to Iranian territory through covert operations that he dubbed the “octopus doctrine”.

Israel has long pushed for a stronger response to Iran’s nuclear programme than diplomacy over the nuclear deal and has repeatedly vowed to take military action if negotiations to salvage the pact fail.