Al-Jazeera Net correspondents
Tehran – Although the Iranian Ministry of Defense described the attack on a military factory in Isfahan as a failed attack, the incident raises questions about his message and how the Iranians read it, especially with what American media revealed that Israel was behind the recent incident.
Today, Sunday, the Wall Street Journal quoted US officials as saying that the drone strike that targeted last night a military facility in Isfahan (central Iran) was carried out by Israel.
3 small drones targeted a military factory in Isfahan province, and the Iranian Ministry of Defense confirmed that the operation was thwarted by anti-aircraft missiles that confronted the drones, which led to the explosion of two of them, noting that the damage was limited to the roof of the factory without damaging the equipment.
In light of the explosions and sabotage operations that targeted Iranian military, nuclear and industrial facilities in the past few years, the recent Isfahan attack brought to mind the assassination of the Iranian nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh in 2020 in the city of Absard, east of the capital, Tehran.
This comes at a time when the Iranian security services have been arresting what they describe as “terrorist cells working for the Israeli Mossad and planning sabotage operations in sensitive areas inside the country” during the past months.
Military reading
In this context, Rahmatullah Bekdli, a reformist politician and member of the Central Council of the Islamic Republic of Iran party, called on the country’s air and civil defense officials to clarify the circumstances of the accident.
Bekdli confirmed in a tweet on Twitter that “the small marches that targeted the military area in Isfahan did not enter from behind the border, but rather were supplied surreptitiously, similar to the weapons that were installed and targeted the martyr Fakhri Zadeh.”
In turn, the specialist in military affairs, Mahdi Bakhtiari, explained that the small flying objects that targeted the military factory in Isfahan were similar to drones for filming, and were not the size of military drones.
The Iranian researcher said – in his interview with Al-Jazeera Net – that these small planes can be developed to suit the task assigned to them so that they are able to carry about 3 kilograms of explosive materials, and control them from close distances to hit the target to be detonated.
Bakhtiari believes that the attack with such flying objects – which usually fly about 30 kilometers – aims to send a message, more than it seeks to destroy military targets surrounded by radars and air defenses.
Political reading
In order to reveal the code of the attack message, Al-Jazeera Net asked the former Iranian ambassador to Norway, Sri Lanka and Hungary, “Abdul Reza Farji Rad”, who sees a remarkable connection between the Isfahan attack and developments on the regional and international levels.
Farji Rad recalls the military maneuvers that the United States and Israel conduct from time to time, and their assertion that they simulate strikes against Iranian military and nuclear facilities, stressing that the possible Israeli attack on the Isfahan facility did not come without an American green light, and that some sources had leaked news about it. The US administration’s intention is to adopt such an approach.
The former Iranian ambassador explained that former US diplomat Dennis Ross, recently revealed in his interview with Iran International, the Persian-speaking opposition, that President Joe Biden is ready for a military response to Iran’s nuclear program.
Farji Rad added that he anticipates harsh European-American pressure against Tehran, due to what he described as “the western side’s annoyance at Tehran’s playing in the strategic arena in the Ukrainian crisis.”
At the same time, the Western side did not leave soft power to resolve thorny issues in the Iranian nuclear file – according to Farji Rad – which In this context, he reads the visit of the Qatari Foreign Minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman Al Thani, to Tehran today, Sunday, and the visit of the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Rafael Grossi, expected this month.
In a joint press conference with his Qatari counterpart, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian spoke. That Tehran has received messages from the parties participating in the nuclear agreement via Qatar, indicating To Doha’s positive role in order to return the parties to the nuclear agreement and reach a fruitful agreement.
For his part, the Qatari foreign minister said that his country is always seeking to create a suitable environment for holding additional negotiating rounds regarding the nuclear agreement.
