Iran thwarts drone attacks on military site in Isfahan | Military news

Iran’s defense ministry said a loud explosion heard in Isfahan was caused by “failed” drone strikes.

Iran’s Defense Ministry reported several drone attacks on a military plant in the central city of Isfahan.

The attacks were “unsuccessful” and there were no casualties, the ministry said in a statement early Sunday.

“One of [the drones] was hit by … air defenses and the other two were caught in defensive traps and blown up,” the statement carried by state news agency IRNA said. “Fortunately, this failed attack resulted in no loss of life and caused minor damage to the roof of the workshop,” the statement said.

The ministry did not say who is suspected of carrying out the attack.

The statement came shortly after Iranian media reported a loud blast in Isfahan.

News agencies released video footage showing a flash of light inside the plant, said to be a munitions factory, and footage of emergency vehicles and fire trucks outside the plant.

The ministry said the attack “did not affect our installations and mission … and such blind measures will not have an impact on the continued progress of the country.”

Reports of the drone attacks in Isfahan also came after Iran’s state television also reported that a fire had broken out at an oil refinery in an industrial area near the northwestern city of Tabriz.

It said the cause was still unknown as it showed footage of firefighters trying to put out the blaze.

Over the past few years, there have been several explosions and fires around Iranian military, nuclear and industrial facilities.

They come among a long shadow war between Iran and Israel.

The two countries are at loggerheads over Tehran’s nuclear program.

Israel claims Iran is seeking to develop nuclear weapons, a claim Tehran denies.

In July last year, Iran said it did arrested sabotage team made up of Kurdish fighters working for Israel who planned to blow up a “sensitive” defense industry center in Isfahan.

Iran also accused Israel of killing its top nuclear scientist, Mohsen Fakhrizadehin 2020, as well as an attack on its underground nuclear facility in Natanz in April 2021 that damaged its centrifuges.

Israel has not claimed responsibility for the attacks.

Israeli officials rarely acknowledge operations carried out by the country’s secret military units or its Mossad intelligence agency.