IRAN SAYS IT SHOT DOWN THREE QUADCOPTER DRONES OUTSIDE ISFAHAN

An Israeli drone in action over the border between Israel and Gaza in 2018.(Reuters: Amir Cohen)

Fri 19 April 2024:

At least three explosions were heard in the central city of Isfahan near a military base. There were no preliminary reports of casualties or significant damage.

Tehran said it shot down three quadcopter drones outside the central city of Isfahan, which is home to key military and nuclear facilities. Unnamed U.S. officials said Israel used missiles in the attack.

Experts said the use of small quadcopter drones, which are unable to travel long distances, suggests the attack was carried out from inside Iranian territory.

Israel has not claimed the attack in Isfahan. But experts said the suspected Israeli response sent a clear message to Tehran.

Raz Zimmt, a senior researcher at the Israeli-based Institute for National Security Studies, said Israel’s use of quadcopter drones, if confirmed, suggests its aim was to “expose the vulnerability of the Iranian security forces” on their own turf.

Air defense batteries fired in several provinces over reports of drones being in the air, state television reported. Iranian army commander Gen. Abdolrahim Mousavi said crews targeted several flying objects.

“The explosion this morning in the sky of Isfahan was related to the shooting of air defense systems at a suspicious object that did not cause any damage,” Mousavi said. Others suggested the drones may be so-called quadcopters — four-rotor, small drones that are commercially available.

Authorities said air defenses fired at a major air base in Isfahan, which long has been home to Iran’s fleet of American-made F-14 Tomcats — purchased before the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

A U.S. official confirmed to CNN that the target was not nuclear. Iran’s state-run Tasnim news also reported that nuclear facilities are “completely secure.” Iran’s underground Natanz enrichment site is located in the province.

Iran has fired air defence batteries to shoot down three drones over Isfahan, according to state media, as regional tensions rise following Iran’s retaliatory strike on Israel after an attack against its diplomatic premises in Syria.

The Washington Post also quoted an Israeli official as saying that it was Israel’s military that carried out strikes inside Iran in response to the Iranian retaliatory assault on April 13.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military matters, said it was intended to send a message to Iran that Israel had the ability to strike inside the country, according to the report.

It also quoted a person familiar with a briefing on the attack, who also spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorised to speak about it, describing the strike as “carefully calibrated”.

An Israeli long-distance aircraft fired missiles at Iranian Air Force assets in Iran’s central Isfahan province, The Jerusalem Post newspaper said.

The daily, however, did not provide a source for the allegation.

Iranian state media reported early Friday that air defenses were activated against suspicious objects in several cities, including Isfahan, amid reports of an alleged Israeli attack.

The semi-official Mehr News Agency said three drones were destroyed in the skies above Isfahan.

Iran’s state television confirmed “massive explosions” in Isfahan, but said no nuclear facilities were affected or targeted in the central city.

Iranian media also reported that air defenses were activated in parts of the country to counter “some possible targets” but clarified that “no large-scale strikes or explosions caused by any air threat has been reported.”

Another report also mentioned that “several miniature UAVs were shot down,” which strongly suggests the usage of quadcopters.

If these reports are accurate, the attack does not seem significant or unprecedented.

If explosive quadcopter drones were indeed used in the attack, that wouldn’t be a first. At least two previous covert Israeli attacks used this method for surgical strikes against Iranian missile and drone sites.

US media reports, citing officials, said that Israel had carried a strike inside Iran.

There was no official Israeli comment yet on reports of launching attacks inside Iran.

Tension escalated between Iran and Israel after Tehran launched a drone and missile attack on Saturday in response to the April 1 attack on its consulate in Syria, in which seven military advisers were killed.

Israel, which has not formally taken responsibility for the consulate attack, has vowed a military response to Iran’s weekend attack.

Israel is the only Middle East country that has F-35 aircraft capable of reaching Iran while avoiding radar detection.

Israeli officials have previously hinted in recent years at the possibility of using this type of aircraft in attacks against Iran.

Israel likely mounted the attack to show Iran it remains undeterred from the Apr. 13 strike and is capable of and willing to hit sensitive sites deep inside the country. At the same time, it might have decided on such a light attack so Tehran could credibly brush it off as insignificant and unworthy of a major retaliation. And these early reports in Iran’s state-run media seemingly suggest Tehran might do just that.

‘Far more limited than many expected’

An Iranian arms control expert says the reported attack “was far more limited than many expected”.

In an interview with Al Jazeera, Ali Ahmadi said Israel “has much more limitations in its operational range” than many think.

“Certainly, after Iran’s retaliatory capacity was criticised, it benefits from advertising how ineffective what Israel did was as well. Iran also needs to prepare the public for a much softer reaction than it has talked about in the last couple of days,” he pointed out.

Ahmadi said that prior to today’s incident, Iran was preparing all sorts of options for massive retaliation including getting allies involved.

But considering the limited scope and impact of the alleged attack, which he described as a “security sabotage” rather than a “military assault”, it would be a mistake to carry out a massive response, he stressed.

What is a quadcopter?

There have been – unconfirmed – suggestions that the objects that the Iranian state media said were shot down over Isfahan were “quadcopters”.

But what are they?

Quadcopters are unmanned aerial vehicles, or UAVs, meaning they are self-flying or autonomous.
The term refers to the fact that they use four propellers to fly.
When a quadcopter’s propellers spin, they push air downward. Using Newton’s third law, an upward force pushes the quadcopter up. Once this force exceeds the force of gravity pulling the quadcopter downward, the quadcopter begins to move up, according to NASA.
Israel’s army has increasingly deployed electronic-controlled quadcopters – which were previously restricted to use for intelligence purposes – in the battlefield.
According to the Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor, Israel has deployed quadcopters to fire directly at Palestinians in Gaza, killing and wounding many of them.
These UAVs also feature eavesdropping equipment and high-quality cameras and can be programmed remotely, to carry out military tasks like shooting and delivering bombs.

Israel’s Ben-Gvir on X: ‘Feeble!’

The far-right security minister has written “Feeble!” on the social media platform.

Itamar Ben-Gvir’s one-word posting followed reports of what some have described as an apparently limited Israeli strike in Iran that so far appeared to have elicited a muted response from Iranian officials.

Israeli opposition leader slams Ben-Gvir over social media post

“Never before a minister has done such a heavy damage to the country’s security, its image, and its international status,” opposition leader Yair Lapid wrote on X.

“In an unforgivable tweet of one word, Ben-Gvir managed to sneer and shame Israel from Tehran to Washington,” he said.

The opposition leader was referring to a social media post by the far-right security minister suggesting that the suspected Israeli strike on Iran was weak.

Ben-Gvir has been calling for a harsh military response after Iran’s retaliatory attack against Israel on April 13.

‘No plan for immediate retaliation’

A senior Iranian official has told Reuters there is no plan for immediate retaliation, adding that there was no clarity yet on who was behind the incident.

“The foreign source of the incident has not been confirmed. We have not received any external attack, and the discussion leans more towards infiltration than attack,” the official said on condition of anonymity.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

______________________________________________________________

FOLLOW INDEPENDENT PRESS:

WhatsApp CHANNEL
https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaAtNxX8fewmiFmN7N22