US Military Helped Intercept Yemen-Bound Weapons From Iran: Pentagon

After more than two decades of secrecy, Israel in July went public with the existence of armed drones in its arsenal.

Briefing Reuters, a senior Israeli military officer said the armed drone fleet includes the passenger plane-sized Heron TP, made by state-owned Israel Aerospace Industries Ltd ISRAI.UK, and Elbit Systems Ltd's ESLT.TA smaller Hermes.

The former, the officer said, "is the heaviest drone that the IDF (Israel Defense Forces) has, which can carry munitions, with an effective payload of around a ton".

Such drones can be potentially used against hardened Iranian nuclear facilities in case Israel decides to carry out its threat of taking action to prevent Iran from developing nuclear bombs.

The Israeli manufacturers do not publicize the armed capabilities of the drones, under what industry sources have described as a Defense Ministry secrecy policy.

The officer, not identified in line with military requirements given the sensitivity of the subject, said any sales of bomb-capable drones would be government-to-government, negating the need for publicity.

All the drone munitions are Israeli-made, the officer said, and "come down in free-fall, and can reach the speed of sound".

Such bombs would not have propulsion systems that generate the tell-tale noise and smoke of fuel afterburners.

The officer declined to give further details on the munitions, saying only that, by design, when an armed drone attacks "no one will hear it, no one will see it coming".

This would assume enough altitude so that the drones' propeller engines cannot be clearly heard on the ground.

With Reporting by Reuters

The attack on midnight, January 28 was filmed by the city’s residents showing explosions at a weapons development facility that is said to be involved in missile technology and munitions production.

The drone strike was yet another episode exposing Iran’s weaknesses in a covert war with Israel and a public embarrassment for its military and intelligence apparatus that have not been able to protect vital targets hundreds of kilometers inside Iran.

The attack came amid tension between Iran and the West over Tehran's nuclear activity and its supply of arms - including long-range "suicide drones" - for Russia's war in Ukraine, as well as months of antigovernment demonstrations at home.

In a letter to the UN chief, Iran's UN envoy, Amir Saeid Iravani, said "primary investigation suggested Israel was responsible" for Saturday night's attack, which Tehran had said caused no casualties or serious damage.

"Iran reserves its legitimate and inherent right to defend its national security and firmly respond to any threat or wrongdoing of the Zionist regime (Israel) wherever and whenever it deems necessary," Iravani said in the letter.

"This action undertaken by the Zionist regime (Israel) goes against international law."

Arch-foe Israel has long said it is willing to strike Iranian targets if diplomacy fails to curb Tehran's nuclear or missile programs but does not comment on specific incidents.

Many see the latest attack as a warning by Israel after years of threats that it will not tolerate a nuclear Iran.

Talks between Iran and world powers to revive a 2015 nuclear deal have stalled since September. The negotiations initiated by the Biden Administration in April 2021 lasted 18 months and failed to produce an agreement. In the meantime, Iran enriched enough uranium for up to four nuclear bombs and sharply reduced monitoring access for the UN nuclear watchdog, the IAEA.

Iran has accused Israel in the past of planning attacks using agents inside Iranian territory.

On Wednesday a semi-official website said "equipment" used in the drone attack on the Ministry of Defense complex was procured by Kurdish groups based in Iraqi Kurdistan region.

Nour News Agency, affiliated with the Iranian Supreme National Security Council (SNSC), claimed that parts of a micro aerial vehicle and explosive materials were ordered by a foreign intelligence service and smuggled into Iran from the Kurdistan region through difficult mountain passes and were handed to an intermediary in a border city in the northwestern part of the country.

The report added that the drone parts and explosives were then assembled at a modern workshop by a group of specialists and were used in the attack.

In July, Tehran claimed it had arrested a sabotage team of Kurdish militants working for Israel who planned to blow up a "sensitive" defense industry center in Esfahan.

Iran has become more isolated in the world after the break in nuclear talks and international reaction to its deadly crackdown on popular protests. The supply of drones to Russia has also soured already weak relations with Europe.

Several nuclear sites are located in Isfahan province, including Natanz, the centerpiece of Iran’s uranium enrichment program, which Iran accuses Israel of sabotaging in 2020 and 2021. There have been a number of explosions and fires around Iranian military, nuclear and industrial sites since July 2020.

Nour News Agency, affiliated with the Iranian Supreme National Security Council (SNSC), claimed on Wednesday that parts of a micro aerial vehicle and explosive materials were ordered by a foreign intelligence service and smuggled into Iran from the Kurdistan region through difficult mountain passes and were handed to an intermediary in a border city in the northwestern part of the country.

The report added that the drone parts and explosives were then assembled at a modern workshop by a group of specialists and were used in the attack.

Nour News had earlier claimed that several members of a "Kurdish group" were trained by Israel for sabotage operations on the industrial facilities of Esfahan but were "arrested by the Ministry of Intelligence," a claim vehemently rejected by Kurdish groups. 

The late-January attack targeted Material and Energy Laboratory of Esfahan with what the defense ministry called “small drones.” Videos citizens sent to Iran International showed an explosion, although the government claimed its air defenses had fended off the attack. Small or quadcopter drones, however, cannot fly hundreds of kilometers to reach Esfahan, located in central Iran. If indeed the attack was carried out with small drones, it would mean operators were present on the ground, in Iran.

According to the Israeli weblog Intellitimes, the target of the drone attack was the "Iranian Space Research Institute" affiliated with the ministry of defense. The Jerusalem Post, citing Western and foreign intelligence sources, also wrote that contrary to Iran’s claim the attack on "advanced weapons development" facility was a "tremendous success".

The Azerbaijani news agency APAquoted the ministry on Wednesday that 39 people have been detained as part of a special operation to uncover subversive activities in the country “under the guise of religion”.

According to the ministry, the detainees, "posing as believers, made propaganda for Iran on social networks and abused the freedom of religion in the country, carrying out the assignments of the Iranian special services."

Meanwhile, ministry also said Wednesday that "it will use all relevant international platforms to widely condemn the terror act against its embassy and punish the perpetrators."

Tensions between the countries haveincreased following an armed attack last week on Azerbaijan’s embassy in Tehran that left an Azerbaijani security official dead and wounded two others.

The ministry also stated that the Islamic Republic has tried to prevent the terror attack from being widely exposed at the international level.

Azerbaijan says the armed attack on its embassy was a "terrorist" act, but the Islamic Republic says the gunman appeared to have had a personal, not a political, motive.

On Tuesday, the Republic of Azerbaijan asked its citizens not to travel to Iran.

The missile dubbed Al-Saqr or falcon in Arabic, is a loitering weapon developed to counter drones and helicopters, Tasnim claims in a detailed article on Wednesday. It says that the weapon is also known as Missile-358.

Tasnim has also published photos of the weapon as it was displayed at a Houthi parade in Yemen, implying that the technology could have been provided by Iran.

The report says Al-Saqr is 2.7 meters long, weighing 58 kilograms and a diameter of 15 centimeters carrying a ten-kilogram warhead. It can reach an altitude of 28,000 feet but is designed against low-flying drones.

Tasnim claims that the weapon is equipped with both optical and heat-seeking capabilities. The warhead is equipped with proximity fuses and has been able to destroy three Saudi drones.

It is not clear why the IRGC-affiliated website would advertise a Houthi weapon and imply that the technology is Iranian, except to show that the Islamic Republic can play a disruptive role in the region.

Tasnim also describes Al-Saqr as a loitering munition that is equipped with a “microjet” engine but uses a rocket booster at the launch stage, which separates from the missile after reaching a certain altitude.

The report also said that the Yemeni weapon can be a sign that Iran has developed low-altitude air defense capabilities against drones. It added that Houthis have deployed many weapon systems similar to what Iran has in its arsenal.