On the night of January 29, Iranian military facilities in various provinces were attacked by drones. Several industrial facilities that are used in the interests of the Iranian Defense Ministry have been attacked. In particular, an enterprise producing Shaheeds was also under attack.
Iran assures that nothing terrible has happened, and all attacks have been unsuccessful. Channel 24 journalistAleksey Pechiy analyzed who is behind the attacks on Iran, as well as what Ukraine has to do with it.
Drones attack on Iran: where explosions were heard
Around midnight, powerful explosions were heard in Tehran, and shooting was heard in the city. In addition, combat aircraft were seen in the sky. It is also known that explosions were heard in several other provinces of Iran. Ironically,all objects in the country were attacked by kamikaze drones. The same ones that Iran is handing over to Russia for attacks on Ukraine.
According to CNN, in addition to Tehran,drones attacked a military plant in Iran's central city of Isfahan. At night, the attack was confirmed by the deputy head of the security service of the city of Jan Nesari.
Interestingly, Nesari said thatthe explosion caused some damage, “but, fortunately, there were no casualties.” The state news agency IRNA later reported that “small drones” caused the explosion.
They assured that there was an unsuccessful attack by small drones against the industrial complex of the Ministry of Defense, and, “fortunately, taking into account the forecasts and air defense measures, the drones were destroyed. Fortunately, this unsuccessful attack did not kill anyone, and the roof of the complex received minor damage.”
Explosions occurred at several enterprises
However, this was only the beginning. In total,explosions occurred at several large enterprisesin different parts of Iran, after which at least four large fires followed by explosions.
It is known that, in addition to the defense enterprise in the city of Isfahan, explosions also occurred in the city of Khoy in the province of Western Azerbaijan, at a petrochemical plant in the city of Azershahr and in Kerej, in the province of Alborz.
A plant for the production of automotive chemicals caught fire in Azershehr. As a result of a strong fire, tanks with finished products exploded. The rescue vehicle was also destroyed by fire. No deaths or injuries have been reported. But the situation at the petrochemical plant in the city of Azershahr was even more critical. It is known that about 25 fire engines were involved in extinguishing the fire.
Around 2 am, the explosions continued and the Nosi air base in the Iranian city of Hamadan was attacked. In addition, it is reported that several more Iranian military bases were attacked. Explosions that occurred in Tehran and Rasht were reported on social networks.
And the most interesting thing is thatthe Iranian Defense Ministry confirmed that supposedly only one of its facilities was attacked using drones. But the department emphasized that all threats were eliminated in advance.
The strike on the plant in Isfahan was a huge success
However, the Israeli media has a slightly different opinion about the attacks. In particular, the Jerusalem Post, citing Western intelligence sources, claims that, despite Iran's claims of failure, the drone attack on the Isfahan weapons factory was a “huge success”. According to the newspaper, four explosions occurred on the territory of the plant. It is important to note that according to intelligence, advanced weapons are being developed at the site, and the damage goes far beyond the “minor damage to the roof” that Iran claims.
At the same time, according to the Jerusalem Post, Israel does not admit involvement in the incident, but most Western intelligence and Iranian sources credit Mossad with equally successful attacks on Iranian nuclear facilities in Natang in July 2020 and in April 2021, another nuclear facility in Karaj in June 2021 year and the destruction of about 120 or more Iranian drones in February 2022.
As journalists write, Iran's reaction coincides with the reaction to similar incidents. And, importantly,in each of these incidents, Tehran initially tried to pretend that the attacks were not successful, but admitted the extent of the damage only when satellite photos or other evidence got into the public sphere. Therefore, it is worth waiting for evidence of the success of the attacks.
Explosions in Iran: what does Ukraine have to do with it
Curiously, the Al Arabiya channel has already stated that this attack was intended to destroy the enterprises that produced ballistic missiles. At the same time, they assure that the US Air Force and the military of another country took part in the strike. Preliminarily, we are not talking about Israel at all, as many might think. But it is not known which country we are talking about.
If the information that the ballistic missile plant was destroyed is a good signal, if the information that the ballistic missile plant was destroyed is confirmed. After allthis will force Iran not to transfer missiles to Russia, but to concentrate their stocks at home.
At the same time, the network is spreading information thatthe Shaheed drone factory was destroyed< /strong>, which Russia buys from Iran for the war against Ukraine However, one should be careful with the conclusions here, because, according to the Jerusalem Post, there is no direct evidence of this.
Nuclear agreement and tense relations: what is the reason for the attack on Iran
But there is still indirect evidence of this. In particular, several reasons for such an attack on Iran are considered:
- supply of drones to Russia,
- tensions between Israel and Iran,
- tensions between Iran and the international community because of the nuclear agreement.
The publication suggests thatthe attacked plant could indeed be connected with the production of Shaheeds, because there is a training base for them nearby.
That is, the question of whether the drone factory was hit is still debatable. At the same time, adviser to the head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Mykhailo Podolyak said that in this way Iran received a bill for helping Russia.
Here Podolyak means his call, which he made back in December last year, that, they say, it is necessary to destroy the industrial facilities for the production of weapons in Iran. And here we come close to the question – who could be behind these explosions?
Israel or the United States: who is behind the attack on Iran
The Al Arabiya channel immediately stated that Israel allegedly launched an operation to destroy Iran's military industry. It should be added that such news cannot but rejoice. As you know, on the eve of the Israeli Ambassador to Germany, Ron Prosor, frankly stated that Israel is on the side of Ukraine, but its help is not always public and noticeable.
So, here the conclusion suggests itself that it was Israel that launched the operation against Iran. But Israel itself does not recognize this. In addition, the Al Arabiya channel claims that Israel has launched an operation to destroy the defense industry, referring to the words of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, which he said on January 28.
In the context of what the prime minister said, one very simple thing should be understood – this statement by Netanyahu was made after two terrorist attacks a day in his country. Therefore, it is far from certain that these words were a direct threat to Iran and led to an attack at night.
At the same time, one should not forget that the US and Israeli military exercises ended the day before, which worked out possible scenarios for responding to Iran's aggression. Do not forget that a few days ago the White House frankly stated thatthe issue of resuming the nuclear agreement with Iran is not the time.
The White House is focused on break military cooperation between Iran and Russia. In addition, it turned out that the head of the CIA suddenly arrived on a working visit to Israel. But it should be emphasized that Jerusalem does not recognize the operation in Iran, although the WSJ claims that this is still the work of Israel.
To talk about the meaningless version that the drones flew from Azerbaijan, which the Russians are now dispersing – even not worth it. But the version of Iran itself should be discussed.
Iran's version is the most interesting
The Iranian Ministry of Defense announced last night that the attack on one of the institutions of the Ministry of Defense in Isfahanwas carried out by a terrorist organization of the Mujahideen< /strong>.
Israel allegedly provided intelligence assistance to them. The Organization of the Iranian Mujahideen is a force that unites all the opposition forces of Iran that oppose the current regime.
In the context of the latest protests in Iran, it has been updated. And she has her own military wing. And only Iran and Iraq recognize it as a terrorist organization. So if the Mujahideen are really behind the explosions, it's even more interesting.
