Iran Blames Israel For Last Week’s Attack On Isfahan Military Site

Iran asserted its right to defend itself after the failed drone strikes at the military workshop complex in Isfahan late on Saturday night

Iran’s ambassador to the UN, Amir Saied Iravani, in a letter to the UN Secretary General and the president of the Security Council on Wednesday, February 1, claimed that a preliminary investigation had proved that Israel was responsible for the “attempted act of aggression in Isfahan.”

On Sunday, the Iranian Ministry of Defense announced that one of its workshop complexes had been attacked late on Saturday night by three Micro Aerial Vehicles (MAVs), or mini drones. It also claimed that its air defense system had been able to thwart the attack.

The ministry added that the attack did not cause any human or material damages and that the workshop was functioning as usual.

On Wednesday, one of Iran’s official news agencies, Nour News, claimed that the drones were launched by “terrorist” elements within the country who were working on the orders of Israeli intelligence agency Mossad. It also alleged that the drone parts had been smuggled into the country through the Iraqi Kurdistan region.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has been carrying out attacks inside Iraqi Kurdistan for some months now, purportedly to destroy “terrorist bases” in the region. Iran claims that the region is being used by anti-Iranian forces to provide training, weapons, and other support to forces causing trouble within the country. It also claims that Mossad is active in the region.

Iravani cited recent public utterances of Israeli President Isaac Herzog and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in which they supported attacks on Iranian nuclear and other military sites. He also noted that Israel has been involved in “sabotage and terrorist attacks” inside Iran in the past.

Iravani urged the UN Security Council to act against Israeli warmongering and make it comply with international law.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran reserves its legitimate and inherent right, in accordance with international law and the United Nations Charter, to defend its national security and respond resolutely to any threats or wrongful actions by the Israeli regime, wherever and whenever deemed necessary,” the letter reads.

Though Israel has officially neither confirmed nor denied its involvement in the Isfahan attacks, major US newspapers such as the New York Times and Wall Street Journal have cited senior intelligence officials to report on Sunday that it was very much behind them.

Iran has in the past accused Israel of various attacks on its nuclear sites, such as in Natanz in July 2020, and for the assassination of its nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh in November 2020.