Iran’s foreign minister played down the strike on Friday, saying Tehran was looking into an attack that occurred overnight but adding that there was no proof of any connection to Israel at this time.
The drones took off from inside Iran and flew for a few hundred meters before being shot down, according to Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian, who spoke with NBC News, an American television network.
“They’re … more like toys that our children play with, not drones,” Amirabdollahian said.
“It has not been proved to us that there is a connection between these and Israel,” he replied, adding that Tehran’s intelligence indicated that media claims were inaccurate despite Iran’s investigation into the topic.
Iranian officials and media reported a few explosions that they said were caused by air defenses striking three drones above the central Iranian city of Isfahan early on Friday morning. Instead of blaming Israel for the tragedy, they described it as an attack by “infiltrators,” avoiding the necessity for retaliation.
Amirabdollahian issued a warning, saying Tehran would respond immediately and to the fullest extent possible if Israel reacted and moved against Iran’s interests. “If Israel wants to do another adventurism and acts against the interests of Iran, our next response will be immediate and will be at the maximum level,” Amirabdollahian said.
Deep within the nation, the strike seemed to be directed towards an Iranian Air Force base close to the city of Isfahan, although it didn’t hit any important locations or seriously harm anything.
Regarding the incident, Israel has remained silent. According to U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, no aggressive activities had included the US.
Following Iran’s first-ever direct attack on Israel on April 13, which ended without a single fatality after Israel and its allies shot down hundreds of missiles and drones, Israel had threatened to retaliate.
Following an alleged Israeli bombing on April 1 that destroyed a building in Iran’s embassy compound in Damascus and killed multiple Iranian personnel, including a top general, Tehran launched those attacks.
The United States and its allies exerted pressure throughout the week to guarantee that any more reprisal would not lead to an even greater escalation, and in an effort to appease Israel, Western nations strengthened sanctions on Iran.
