Iran says drone attack on military site in Isfahan was thwarted - BBC

The Iranian defence ministry says it has foiled a drone onslaught connected a subject installation successful the metropolis of Isfahan.

The ministry said the tract suffered lone insignificant damage, though this has not been independently verified.

The Wall Street Journal and New York Times quoted unnamed US officials arsenic saying Israel was down the attack.

Israel has not commented. The intent of the tract is unclear, though reports suggest it could beryllium connected to rocket production.

Iran's defence ministry said 3 drones were progressive successful the onslaught connected Saturday nighttime astatine astir 23:30 (20:00 GMT). It said 1 was destroyed by aerial defence systems and 2 were caught by "defence traps", causing insignificant harm to a building. There were nary casualties, it said.

Local authorities did not remark connected activities astatine the site, but called it a "workshop". Iran's authoritative Irna quality bureau said the drones had targeted "an ammunition manufacturing plant".

Isfahan state is location to a ample aerial base, a large rocket accumulation analyzable and respective atomic sites.

Pentagon spokesperson Brig Gen Patrick Ryder said the US subject played nary portion successful the strikes, but declined to speculate further, Reuters quality bureau reported.

The Wall Street Journal quoted unnamed "US officials and radical acquainted with the operation" arsenic saying Israel had carried retired the attack. The New York Times said it was the enactment of the Mossad, Israel's quality service, according to "senior [US] quality officials".

If confirmed it would people the archetypal specified known onslaught connected a installation successful Iran nether the existent Israeli authorities which came to powerfulness nether Benjamin Netanyahu astatine the extremity of December.

Israel has antecedently admitted to carrying retired hundreds of strikes against Iranian targets successful Syria, which it says is aimed to halt the transportation of weapons from Iran to militants successful Lebanon.

Iran does not recognise Israel's close to beryllium and the 2 countries are bitter foes.

Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said the "cowardly" incidental connected Saturday nighttime was an effort to destabilise the country.

The onslaught comes amid heightened tensions implicit Iran's atomic programme and its proviso of arms to Russia's warfare successful Ukraine.

The state has besides been wracked by interior turmoil successful caller months, spurred by the decease of a pistillate who was detained for violating Iran's strict formal code.

In a abstracted incidental connected Saturday, Irna reported a occurrence broke retired astatine an lipid installation adjacent the north-western metropolis of Tabriz. No details astir the origin person been revealed.

In caller years, determination person been a fig of explosions, fires and cyber attacks connected Iranian military, atomic and concern facilities.

Additional reporting by Josh Cheetham