Here’s what we know so far about Saturday night’s attack on Iran: as of this moment, mysterious explosions have taken place in at least four locations.
The first explosion took place in the city of Isfahan, where, according to an official report by the Iranian Defense Ministry, a quadcopter drone attack on a defense industrial complex failed. In a statement released early on Sunday, the Ministry said that “one of three drones attacking the defense equipment manufacturing complex in Isfahan was downed by a defense system stationed inside the facility and two others exploded after being caught in traps set by the defense system. According to Iranian press reports, the factory was damaged but there were no casualties, “thanks to God’s blessing.”
Another explosion took place in the city of Khoy in West Azerbaijan, northwestern Iran, Saturday night, but it may have been an earthquake (and not one caused by a drone attack). An earthquake with a magnitude of 5.9 on the Richter Scale struck the area, killing at least seven and injuring 440.
Speculations of drone attacks mixed with an earthquake followed another explosion that occurred in the city of Azarshahr in East Azerbaijan Province, about 100 kilometers from Khoy. According to reports, an ignited a fire at a motor oil factory.
The final explosion was heard in the city of Kharj, west of Tehran. Several explosions were heard there, but no further details are available.
There were other reports of explosions in Iranian cities. In addition, in the early morning, fighter jets were heard flying in the sky over the capital Tehran, and videos show smoke in one area of the city.
The deputy governor of Isfahan province, Mohammad Reza Jan-Nesari, said on TV there were “no casualties” from the attack, and “the cause of the incident is under investigation.”
Iran says drone attack targets defense facility in Isfahan
JON GAMBRELL
Bomb-carrying drones targeted an Iranian defense factory in the central city of Isfahan overnight, authorities said early Sunday, causing some damage at the plant amid heightened regional and international tensions engulfing the Islamic Republic.
The Iranian Defense Ministry offered no information on who it suspected carried out the attack, which came as a refinery fire separately broke out in the country’s northwest and a 5.9 magnitude earthquake struck nearby, killing three people.
However, Tehran has been targeted in suspected Israeli drone strikes amid a shadow war with its Mideast rival as its nuclear deal with world powers collapsed. Meanwhile, tensions also remain high with neighboring Azerbaijan after a gunman attacked that country’s embassy in Tehran, killing its security chief and wounding two others.
Details on the Isfahan attack, which happened around 11:30 p.m. Saturday, remained scarce. A Defense Ministry statement described three drones being launched at the facility, with two of them successfully shot down. A third apparently made it through to strike the building, causing “minor damage” to its roof and wounding no one, the ministry said.
Iranian state television’s English-language arm, Press TV, aired mobile phone video apparently showing the moment that drone struck along the busy Imam Khomeini Expressway that heads northwest out of Isfahan, one of several ways for drivers to go to the holy city of Qom and Tehran, Iran’s capital. A small crowd stood gathered, drawn by anti-aircraft fire, watching as an explosion and sparks struck a dark building.
That footage of the strike, as well as footage of the aftermath analyzed by The Associated Press, corresponded to a site on Minoo Street in northwestern Isfahan that’s near a shopping center that includes a carpet and an electronics store.
Iranian defense and nuclear sites increasingly find themselves surrounded by commercial properties and residential neighborhoods as the country’s cities sprawl ever outward. Some locations as well remain incredibly opaque about what they produce, with only a sign bearing a Defense Ministry or paramilitary Revolutionary Guard logo.
The Defense Ministry only called the site a “workshop,” without elaborating on what it made. Isfahan, some 350 kilometers (215 miles) south of Tehran, is home to both a large air base built for its fleet of American-made F-14 fighter jets and its Nuclear Fuel Research and Production Center
Separately, Iran’s state TV said a fire broke out at an oil refinery in an industrial zone near the northwestern city of Tabriz. It said the cause was not yet known, as it showed footage of firefighters trying to extinguish the blaze. Tabriz is some 520 kilometers (325 miles) northwest of Tehran.
State TV also said the magnitude 5.9 earthquake killed three people and injured 816 others in rural areas in West Azerbaijan province, damaging buildings in many villages.
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