Isfahan - strategic Iranian city where explosions heard
Isfahan, located in Iran, was displayed exploding in videos that locals sent to BBC Persian.
Authored by Baran Abbasi and Tom Spender --- The blog post didn't include any specific content for me to reword.
Isfahan, a city where explosions occurred last night, is well-known for its grand palaces, decorated mosques, and tall minarets. In addition, Isfahan holds significant importance as a hub for military manufacturing.
The third largest city in Iran is known as "Nesf-e-Jahaan" because it is situated in the middle of the country close to the Zagros mountains.
There are places in the city and surrounding areas where factories manufacture drones and ballistic missiles.
Not too far away lies the Natanz nuclear complex, which happens to be the Iranian nuclear enrichment program's crucial hub.
The significance of a possible attack in Isfahan, which is closely associated with Iran's nuclear facilities, would not be lost on anyone.
If the attack came from Israel, it appears that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government wanted to let Iran know that they possess the power to target important locations in the province, but decided not to do so just yet.
Iranian authorities were prompt in declaring that the nuclear sites situated in the province of Isfahan were "entirely protected". Despite not possessing nuclear armament, Iran refutes any allegations of trying to exploit their civil nuclear program with the intention of becoming a nuclear weapon-carrying nation.
There are different stories about what occurred during the night. Hossein Dalirian, the spokesperson for Iran's space agency, stated that they had "successfully shot down" "several" drones. He denied the reports that there was a missile attack.
Several news sources from Iran have stated that there were three explosions in close proximity to both the Isfahan airport and a military air base. However, Iran has yet to officially verify whether or not this was an assault carried out by Israel.
On Friday, Abdolrahim Mousavi, the top commander of Iran's army, stated that the explosions were caused by the activation of anti-aircraft defense systems in response to an unknown object.
According to Iranian officials and media reports, three drones were launched by "infiltrators" in the recent incident.
The air force of Iran possesses a base that is situated at Isfahan airport, where some of its outdated F-14 fighter jets are stored.
During the reign of the Shah in the 1970s, Iran obtained F-14 fighter jets from the United States and has been able to maintain their usage over the years. To date, Iran is the sole country that operates the F-14 Top Gun jets actively.
There have been instances where Isfahan was suspected to have been targeted by Israel. In the early parts of 2023, Iran implicated Israel for a drone assault on a munitions plant situated at the center of the town. Apparently, the attack was done through the use of quadcopters, which are tiny drones equipped with four propellers.
Friday saw people going about their business in Isfahan, as they typically do. The city, which served as the capital of the Safavid dynasty during the 16th and 17th centuries, experienced a period of growth and prosperity during this time.
Other regions of Iran have also experienced comparable drone strikes in the past few years. Israel has not acknowledged responsibility for any of these strikes.
According to the BBC, Hamish de Bretton-Gordon, an expert on chemical weapons who previously led both the UK and NATO's nuclear forces, has stated that the attack on Isfahan is extremely notable due to the abundance of military installations located in and around the area.
According to him, the recent missile attack was close to the region where Iran is suspected to be developing nuclear weapons. This may have been a signal related to that matter.
He stated that the Israeli attack was largely a display of their ability and possible intention. He pointed out that Israel successfully intercepted nearly all of the 300+ drones and missiles launched by Iran during the recent weekend, whereas Israel only launched "one, or maybe two" missiles that resulted in some damage to their target.
According to him, the Iranian authorities were downplaying the attack as they didn't want to spread the word about Israel's triumph in penetrating Iran's "outdated" defensive airspace systems.
"He stated that this is a clear indication of Israel's superior military strength compared to Iran."
The image used in this blog post is from Getty Images.
In Isfahan, there are some F-14 fighter jets that are part of Iran's air force, as seen in a 2008 air show. Iran is the sole country that still utilizes these types of aircraft.
Iran prefers to engage in covert warfare through its terror organizations and proxies, rather than confront Israel directly in a conventional military confrontation where it is aware of the potential for significant defeat.
On Friday, Sergei Lavrov, the Foreign Minister of Russia, informed Israel that Iran has no intentions of escalating events. This statement follows their growing relationship in military efforts between Russia and Iran.
The leaders of Russia and Iran have communicated with our representatives and the Israelis through telephone conversations. During these dialogues, we made it explicitly clear to the Israelis that Iran is not seeking to intensify the situation. This message was delivered by Mr. Lavrov in an interview with a Russian radio station.
According to Mr. de Bretton-Gordon, Iran felt somewhat better after attacking Israel over the weekend, in response to the suspected Israeli missile attack on its consulate in Syria earlier this month. However, Iran does not wish to increase the tension any further.
According to him, Iran is aware that Israel has a strong determination and support from the United States and other countries. Iran cannot depend on much aid, except possibly from Russia, who is eager to keep attention on the Middle East instead of Ukraine. Despite this, Iran remains somewhat isolated.
Their top priority is to prevent any of their critical facilities from being targeted.
