Iran’s Defense Minister has denied reports of Israeli fighter jets entering Iranian airspace during last weekend’s raids as it plays down the damage inflicted after the four-hour assault.
Speaking to Tasnim News Agency, Amir Aziz Nasirzadeh said: "The enemy attempted to damage both our defensive and offensive systems. However, due to precautions, there was minimal impact, and as you saw, there were no casualties or injuries in our defense industries.”
His comments come after the hours-long assault spread over three waves which targeted air defense systems, key Iranian industrial production facilities of missiles and drones, and missile launch bases.
Spread across Tehran, Kermanshah, Qom, Ahvaz, Shiraz, and the farther Semnan province, the operation involved around 100 aircraft.
However, playing down the impact, Nasirzadeh said: “Furthermore, since this technology is domestically produced, we were able to replace one of the air defense systems the very next day, so there has been no disruption in our offensive production capabilities, such as missiles." However, Israeli and other reports say Iran's Russian-made S-300 system was targeted, which is the main long-range interceptor missiles defending the country.
The Defense Minister also went on to dismiss claims that Israeli fighter jets had entered Iranian airspace. "According to the United Nations Charter, any country has the right to respond if its airspace is violated,” he said, suggesting that denials may avoid a necessary deepening of the conflict between the decades-long enemies.
He also denied damage to an IRGC missile facility in Shahroud while satellite imagery from Planet Labs showing a significant impact at the site that builds ballistic missiles and launches rockets as part of its own space program.
So far, Iran only has identified Israeli attacks as taking place in Ilam, Khuzestan and Tehran provinces — not in rural Semnan province where the base is located.
A strike on Shahroud potentially further restrains the IRGC’s ability to manufacture the solid-fuel ballistic missiles it needs to stockpile as a deterrent against Israel. Tehran long has relied on that arsenal as it cannot purchase the advanced Western weapons that Israel and Iran's Persian Gulf Arab neighbors have armed themselves with over the years, particularly from the United States.
The site also hosts the Imam Khomeini Space Center, which is used by Iran’s space program. The images show a central, major building at the Shahroud Space Center have been destroyed, the shadow of its still-standing frame seen in the image taken Tuesday morning.
The imagery, seen by the Associated Press, showed vehicles gathered around the site, believed to be officials inspecting the damage, with more cars than normal parked at the site’s main gate nearby.
Three small buildings just to the south of the main structure also appeared to be damage, AP said. Iran has been constructing new buildings at the base in recent months. Another hangar to the northeast of the main building also appeared to have been damaged.
On Wednesday, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a cabinet meeting, blamed the US for helping facilitate the logistics of the attack.
”Our intelligence indicates that Israeli fighter jets carried out this attack through a corridor facilitated by US forces," he said. "We have lodged our complaint with the United Nations and other international bodies and will continue to pursue this matter.”
Coordinating Deputy of Iran's Army Admiral Habibollah Sayyari also denied the penetration of Iran’s air space, reported first by Iran International.
“Thanks to the readiness and alertness of our air defenses and Air Force in a coordinated operation, the enemy was prevented from breaching our borders,” he said.
“They were forced to launch ballistic missiles from 100 kilometers outside our borders, many of which were intercepted by our defenses, though some did strike certain areas.”
One day after Iran International reported Israeli F-35s had entered Iran's airspace for the first time and bombed targets near Tehran, CNN reported that Israeli fighter jets entered Iranian airspace during the Saturday attack.
