A US official said over the weekend that Israel may have been responsible for the overnight drone strike on a military factory in Iran. This follows Tehran’s claim of having intercepted drones that struck a target in the city of Isfahan.
US officials said on Sunday that Israel was likely behind the overnight drone strike, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal, citing several sources familiar with the matter. One US official told Reuters that it did appear that Israel was involved in the strike, while other US officials declined to comment, reiterating that Washington had no involvement in the strike.
Pentagon spokesman Brigadier General Patrick Ryder said there were no US military forces involved in the strikes in Iran and did not comment further.
Tehran claimed to have intercepted drones that hit a military-industrial target close to Isfahan. There were no reported casualties or serious damage. Iranian state media showed video footage of a flash in the sky and emergency vehicles at the scene.
Iranian foreign minister Hossein Amirabdollahian said the incident was a “cowardly” attack that aimed to create “insecurity” in Iran. However, Iranian state television broadcast the comments by lawmaker Hossein Mirzaie, who said that there is a strong suspicion that Israel was behind the incident.
Israel has long said it was willing to strike Iranian targets should diplomacy fail to curb Tehran’s nuclear and missile programs. The incident also comes at a time of tensions between Iran and the West over Tehran’s nuclear program as well as its alleged supply of drones to Russia to use in Ukraine and the months of anti-government protests taking place in Iran.
Meanwhile, Iran summoned the Ukrainian charge d’affaires in Tehran to protest against Kyiv’s comments over the drone strike. A senior aide to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the drone strike was linked to the ongoing war.
“Explosive night in Iran,” aide Mykhailo Podolyak tweeted on Sunday. “Did warn you.”
Ukraine has also accused Iran of sending its drones to Russia to attack civilian targets in the ongoing war. Tehran has acknowledged sending drones to Moscow but said the drones were sent to Russia before the war in February last year.