Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian criticized the drone strike as “cowardly” and aimed at creating “insecurity” in the country.
Israel appears to be behind a drone attack on a military factory in Iran, United States officials say.
Iran said on Sunday it had intercepted drones targeting a facility near the central city of Isfahan, adding that there were no casualties.
The extent of the damage could not be independently determined. Iranian state media released footage showing a flash in the sky and emergency vehicles at the scene.
Israel is behind the drone attack, according to The Wall Street Journal, citing unnamed US officials and people familiar with the attack. There was no immediate response from Israeli authorities.
One US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told the Reuters news agency that Israel appeared to be involved. Other US officials declined to comment other than to say the US played no role.
Meanwhile in Ukraine, which accuses Iran of supplying Russia with hundreds of drones to attack targets in Ukrainian cities, a senior aide to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy linked the incident directly to the war there.
“Explosive night in Iran,” tweeted Mykhailo Podolyak. “I warned you.”
‘Cowardly’
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian criticized the drone strike as “cowardly” and aimed at creating “insecurity” in the country. State TV broadcast comments from lawmaker Hossein Mirzaie, who said there was “strong speculation” that Israel was behind it.
Iran’s Defense Ministry did not comment on who carried out the attack. However, Iran has been the target of alleged Israeli attacks in the past amid a shadow war with its Middle Eastern rival after its nuclear deal with world powers collapsed.
The ministry’s press release described that three drones were launched at the facility, two of which were successfully shot down. The third apparently managed to hit the building, causing “minor damage” to the roof and injuring no one.
The Isfahan plant is located 350 km (217 miles) south of the capital Tehran. The ministry called the location a “workshop” without giving details. There is also a large airbase built for the US F-14 fighter jet fleet and a nuclear fuel research and production center.
When Amir-Abdollahian was asked if this would affect the country’s nuclear program, he replied: “Such moves cannot affect the will and intentions of our nuclear scientists to achieve peaceful nuclear energy.”
Iran’s government faces challenges both at home and abroad as its nuclear program rapidly enriches uranium to weapons-grade levels more than ever since the collapse of its nuclear deal with world powers.
In separate incidents on Sunday, a fire broke out at a refinery in the northwest of the country and a magnitude 5.9 earthquake struck nearby, killing three people.
Israel is suspected of launching a series of attacks on Iran, including an attack on its underground nuclear facility at Natanz in April 2021 that damaged its centrifuges. In 2020, Iran blamed Israel for a sophisticated attack that killed its top nuclear scientist.
Israeli officials rarely acknowledge operations carried out by the country’s secret military units or its Mossad intelligence agency.
Talks between Iran and world powers to revive the 2015 nuclear deal have been stalled since September. Under the pact, which Washington abandoned in 2018 under then-President Donald Trump, Tehran agreed to limit nuclear work in exchange for sanctions relief.