Fox News reports that a drone strike targeted an Iranian military facility on Saturday evening.
Video of the strike has been circulating the internet.
Take a look:
#BREAKING Several Isfahan citizens told @IranIntl they have heard at least “three or four explosions”.
Meanwhile, Telegram channels affiliated to IRGC are sharing this video with the caption “the moment a drone hits the Iranian Defense Ministry’s ammunition facility in Isfahan”. pic.twitter.com/tb9tHJOCKq— Iran International English (@IranIntl_En) January 28, 2023
What we know about the attack
So far, not a lot is known about the attacks. The little information that has been provided comes from the Iranian Defense Ministry.
According to the ministry, three drones carried out the attack at 11:30 p.m. on Saturday in the city of Isfahan.
The strike is said to have targeted a “workshop” or factory, but the ministry did not reveal why the factory may have been targeted. It has not disclosed what takes place in the factory.
While the strike is said to have caused some damage, Iranian authorities claim that the strike was largely “unsuccessful.”
According to the IRNA – the country’s official news agency – Iranian defense officials put out a statement, saying:
One of (the drones) was hit by the … air defense and the other two were caught in defense traps and blew up. Fortunately, this unsuccessful attack did not cause any loss of life and caused minor damage to the workshop’s roof.
“Massive military drill”
According to a separate report from Fox, the drone strike “comes after U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) and the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) conducted a massive military drill in Israel earlier this week.”
“These kinds of exercises,” according to CENTCOM, “develop interoperability between military forces, increase military capabilities, and are important to the security and stability of the region.”
In other words, the drills, in part, are meant to be a deterrence in order to keep Iran in line.
Whether or not this has anything to do with the drone strike on Iran remains unclear. At the time of the writing of this article, nobody has claimed responsibility for the drone attack.
The idea that Israel is behind the attack is certainly not outside of the realm of possibility given the country’s longstanding feud with Iran. Ukraine would be another possibility considering Iran’s providing of assistance to Russia in the ongoing Ukraine-Russia war. But, until someone claims responsibility for the drone strike, this is all speculation.