A satellite photo of Parchin military site near the Iranian capital Tehran
Suicide drones were used to target an Iranian military research facility on Wednesday, the New York Times reported Friday, citing three Iranian sources and a US official.
The NYT says its sources believe quadcopter suicide drones were used in the attack. Given the relatively smaller size of these drones it is not clear if they were launched from inside Iran or a forward base near its borders.
Iranian media on Thursday had reported a fire in Parchin military complex, near the capital Tehran, saying that a young engineer was killed at a defense ministry center developing nuclear, missile and drome technologies.
Although no one has taken responsibility, Israel is strongly suspected of conducting multiple sabotage attacks, and possibly drone strikes, against targets in Iran, and even the assassination of its top nuclear operative in November 2020.
Israeli media attributed one particular striketo an Israeli aerial attack, which reportedly destroyed hundreds of drones at an airbase belonging to the Revolutionary Guard in the Iranian province of Kermanshah in February.
Iran has made notable advances in the past few years in producing effective drones that have been widely used by its proxies throughout the region against Saudi Arabia, in Iraq and against a US base in Syria.
Just three days before this attack, an Iranian Qods (Quds) Force colonel was killed outside his home in Tehran by two gunmen on motorcycle. He was reportedly involved in clandestine terror operations against Israel, which has apparently told the United States it was responsible for the killing.