Iran’s Defense Ministry said that it had thwarted an attack Saturday on one of its munition centers in the central city of Isfahan by shooting down three drones.
Iran did not attribute responsibility to any specific country or group but New York Times quoted intelligence sources saying that the strike was the work of Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency. Israeli media also attributed the attack to Mossad. “From the nature of the attack, it can be estimated that Mossad is behind it” the Haartez reported.
The Iranian official statement referred to the incident as an “unsuccessful attack.” The state news agency IRNA later said the explosion had been caused by “small drones.”
“On the evening of January 28, around 23:30, an unsuccessful attack was carried out using (drones) on one of the workshop complexes of the Defense Ministry, and fortunately … one of (the drones) was hit by the … air defence and the other two were caught in defense traps and blew up,” the statement read.
“Fortunately, this unsuccessful attack did not cause any loss of life and caused minor damage to the workshop’s roof,” it added.
Video footage posted on social media by witnesses showed a large explosion erupting in the night sky. Several unverified videos shared on social media showed a flash of light at the plant, which the official IRNA news agency described as an ammunitions factory. Footage showed emergency vehicles and fire trucks outside the complex.
Earlier, the deputy governor of Isfahan confirmed that an explosion had occurred at a facility affiliated with the Defense Ministry following reports of a loud blast heard in the city.
Isfahan, some 350 kilometers south of Tehran, is home to both a large air base built for its fleet of American-made F-14 fighter jets and its Nuclear Fuel Research and Production Center.
The attack came after a 5.9 magnitude earthquake struck nearby, killing three people and injuring hundreds in the city of Khoy, West Azerbaijan province, in northwest Iran.
In recent years, there have been several incidents of explosions and fires at Iranian military, and nuclear facilities.
