Iran says drone attack targeted a defense factory in city of Isfahan - PBS NewsHour

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Bomb-carrying drones targeted an Iranian defence mill successful the cardinal metropolis of Isfahan overnight, authorities said aboriginal Sunday, causing immoderate harm astatine the works amid heightened determination and planetary tensions engulfing the Islamic Republic.

The Iranian Defense Ministry offered nary accusation connected who it suspected carried retired the attack, which came arsenic a refinery occurrence separately broke retired successful the country’s northwest and a 5.9 magnitude earthquake struck nearby, sidesplitting 3 people.

However, Tehran has been targeted successful suspected Israeli drone strikes amid a shadiness warfare with its Mideast rival arsenic its atomic woody with satellite powers collapsed. Meanwhile, tensions besides stay precocious with neighboring Azerbaijan aft a gunman attacked that country’s embassy successful Tehran, sidesplitting its information main and wounding 2 others.

READ MORE: Drone warfare takes flight, raising stakes successful Iran, U.S. tensions

Details connected the Isfahan attack, which happened astir 11:30 p.m. Saturday, remained scarce. A Defense Ministry connection described 3 drones being launched astatine the facility, with 2 of them successfully changeable down. A 3rd seemingly made it done to onslaught the building, causing “minor damage” to its extortion and wounding nary one, the ministry said.

The state-run IRNA quality bureau aboriginal described the drones arsenic “quadcopters equipped with bomblets.” Quadcopters, which get their sanction from having 4 rotors, typically run from abbreviated ranges by distant control.

Iranian authorities television’s English-language arm, Press TV, aired mobile telephone video seemingly showing the infinitesimal that drone struck on the engaged Imam Khomeini Expressway that heads northwest retired of Isfahan, 1 of respective ways for drivers to spell to the beatified metropolis of Qom and Tehran, Iran’s capital. A tiny assemblage stood gathered, drawn by anti-aircraft fire, watching arsenic an detonation and sparks struck a acheronian building.

“Oh my God! That was a drone, wasn’t it?” the antheral filming shouts. “Yeah, it was a drone.”

Those determination fled aft the strike.

That footage of the strike, arsenic good arsenic footage of the aftermath analyzed by The Associated Press, corresponded to a tract connected Minoo Street successful northwestern Isfahan that’s adjacent a buying halfway that includes a carpet and an electronics store.

Iranian defence and atomic sites progressively find themselves surrounded by commercialized properties and residential neighborhoods arsenic the country’s cities sprawl ever outward. Some locations arsenic good stay incredibly opaque astir what they produce, with lone a motion bearing a Defense Ministry oregon paramilitary Revolutionary Guard logo.

The Defense Ministry lone called the tract a “workshop,” without elaborating connected what it made. Isfahan, immoderate 350 kilometers (215 miles) southbound of Tehran, is location to some a ample aerial basal built for its fleet of American-made F-14 combatant jets and its Nuclear Fuel Research and Production Center.

The onslaught comes aft Iran’s Intelligence Ministry successful July claimed to person breached up a crippled to people delicate sites astir Isfahan. A conception aired connected Iranian authorities TV successful October included purported confessions by alleged members of Komala, a Kurdish absorption enactment that is exiled from Iran and present lives successful Iraq, that they planned to people a subject aerospace installation successful Isfahan aft being trained by Israel’s Mossad quality service.

Activists accidental Iranian authorities TV has aired hundreds of coerced confessions implicit the past decade. Israeli officials declined to remark connected the attack.

Meeting aboriginal alongside his Qatari counterpart, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian criticized the “cowardly attack” erstwhile asked if it would impact the country’s atomic program.

“Such moves can’t interaction our atomic scientists volition and intentions to execute peaceful atomic energy,” Amirabdollahian said.

READ MORE: Iran has capable enriched uraniam to physique ‘several’ atomic weapons, UN says

Qatar’s Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said helium passed a connection from the Americans to Iran that related to its atomic program, without offering specifics.

Separately, Iran’s authorities TV said a occurrence broke retired astatine an lipid refinery successful an concern portion adjacent the northwestern metropolis of Tabriz. It said the origin was not yet known, arsenic it showed footage of firefighters trying to extinguish the blaze. Tabriz is immoderate 520 kilometers (325 miles) northwest of Tehran.

State TV besides said the magnitude 5.9 earthquake killed 3 radical and injured 816 others successful agrarian areas successful West Azerbaijan province, damaging buildings successful galore villages.

Iran’s theocratic authorities faces challenges some astatine location and overseas arsenic its atomic programme rapidly enriches uranium person than ever to weapons-grade levels since the illness of its atomic accord with satellite powers.

Nationwide protests person shaken the state since the September decease of Mahsa Amini, a Kurdish-Iranian pistillate detained by the country’s morality police. Its rial currency has plummeted to caller lows against the U.S. dollar. Meanwhile, Iran continues to limb Russia with the bomb-carrying drone that Moscow uses successful attacks successful Ukraine connected powerfulness plants and civilian targets.

Israel is suspected of launching a bid of attacks connected Iran, including an April 2021 battle connected its underground Natanz atomic installation that damaged its centrifuges. In 2020, Iran blamed Israel for a blase onslaught that killed its apical subject atomic scientist.

Israeli officials seldom admit operations carried retired by the country’s concealed subject units oregon its Mossad quality agency. However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who precocious re-entered the premiership, agelong has considered Iran to beryllium the biggest menace his federation faces. The U.S. and Israel besides conscionable held their largest-ever subject workout amid the tensions with Iran.

Meanwhile, tensions stay precocious betwixt Azerbaijan and Iran arsenic Azerbaijan and Armenia person fought implicit the Nagorno-Karabakh region. Iran besides wants to support its 44-kilometer (27-mile) borderline with landlocked Armenia — thing that could beryllium threatened if Azerbaijan seizes caller territory done warfare.

Iran successful October launched a subject workout adjacent the Azerbaijan border. Azerbaijan besides maintains adjacent ties to Israel, which has infuriated Iranian hard-liners, and has purchased Israeli-made drones for its military.

Anwar Gargash, a elder Emirati diplomat, warned online that the Isfahan onslaught represented 1 much lawsuit successful the “dangerous escalation the portion is witnessing.” The United Arab Emirates was targeted successful rocket and drone attacks past twelvemonth claimed by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels.

It “is not successful the involvement of the portion and its future,” Gargash wrote connected Twitter. “Although the problems of the portion are complex, determination is nary alternate to dialogue.”

Associated Press writer Joseph Krauss contributed to this report.