Iran has threatened Israel with “retaliatory” attacks following Sunday’s unidentified drone strike on an Iranian military factory. The strike, which according to Iranian state media, was carried out by several bomb-carrying drones, took place in Iran’s central province of Isfahan, home to the regime’s top nuclear weapons facility. Iran’s regime-run media downplayed the strike’s impact but admitted that it caused damage to the roof of a military factory.
The targeted “site was a weapons production facility for Iran’s killer Shahed-136 drones,” Israel’s Channel 12 news revealed. The Shahed-136 kamikaze drones are being used extensively against Ukrainian military and civilian infrastructure by Russian forces.
Iran’s central Isfahan province is home to several nuclear sites, including Natanz underground facility used for enriching weapons-grade uranium needed for a nuclear bomb.
In April 2021, a mysterious attack at Natanz nuclear enrichment facility destroyed thousands of brand-new advanced centrifuges. Iran blamed Israel for the mysterious incident which almost derailed its rogue nuke program.
The Israeli news reports suggest that the strike on Iran’s military infrastructure, which comes exactly a month after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu returned to office, could result from a change of guard in Jerusalem.
“In his previous term, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered numerous strikes on Iranian targets in Syria and operations on Iranian soil,” The Times of Israel noted Monday. “He has been open about his intention to oppose Tehran’s nuclear aspirations at any cost, as Israel generally views an Iranian nuclear bomb as a near-existential threat.”
U.S. media outlets, The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal, quoted unnamed American officials saying Israel was behind the hit on the military facility in central Iran. Similar attacks on Iran’s military and nuclear weapons infrastructure in the past have been attributed to the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad.
The WSJ reported Sunday:
An Israeli drone strike inside Iran hit an advanced weapons-production facility in an attack that Israel believes achieved its goals, according to people familiar with discussions about the operation.The operation early Sunday morning was executed by Israel’s intelligence agency, the Mossad, and targeted a Ministry of Defense site in Isfahan in central Iran, hitting a building in four different areas with precision strikes, the people said. Satellite photos showed what appeared to be minor damage to the site’s roof, but the people called the mission successful, without elaborating.In keeping with their long-held tradition, Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and intelligence agencies di not comment on the incident.
Israeli security forces are on high alert following Iranian threats. “Top security brass reportedly held several meetings over the past two days to discuss intelligence regarding possible Iranian retaliation to a drone strike early on Sunday targeting a major defense facility,” the Israeli TV channel i24news reported.
The Times of Israel disclosed the details of Israeli preparedness:
The security establishment on Monday was reportedly bracing for a retaliatory strike by Iran, following a series of attacks against Islamic Republic targets over the past several days that have been blamed on Israel.The Kan public broadcaster reported Monday that security officials have held discussions over the past day to try to predict when and how Iran will respond to several strikes on convoys that reportedly were ferrying weapons and ammunition for Tehran-backed militias in Syria over the past 48 hours. (…)In addition to retaliatory attacks against targets inside Israel, the security establishment was readying for the possibility that the Islamic Republic would take aim at Israeli tourists, officials, and embassies abroad, Kan reported without citing sources.
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