Drone Strike Was Behind Deadly Explosion At Key Iranian Military Research Facility – Report
A drone strike was behind the May 25 explosion at Iran’s Parchin military complex, The New York Times reported on May 27 citing three Iranians and a US official with knowledge of the attack.
The Parchin military complex, which is located to the southeast of the Iranian capital Tehran, is the home for several industrial and research units where missile, nuclear and drone technology are reportedly being developed.
Iranian officials told The New York Times that quadcopter suicide drones targeted the complex. According to the officials, drones hit a building used for research on drone development, killing an engineer who worked at the ministry and wounding another employee.
A US official confirmed to the daily newspaper that suicide drones had attacked Parchin, but declined to name the side responsible for the attack.
Two days before the attack Quds Force Colonel Hassan Sayad Khodayari was gunned down in the heart of Tehran The Mossad, Israel’s national intelligence agency, was reportedly behind the assassination.
The attack on the Parchin military complex fits a pattern of past Israeli strikes with suicide drones on Iran and Lebanon.
On February 14, Israel attacked Mahidasht Air Base in Iran’s Kermanshah with six quadcopter suicide drones. The base is reportedly one of Iran’s main manufacturing and storage plant for military drones. That Israeli attack destroyed dozens of drones.
Iran retaliated to the attack on March 13 by launching ballistic missiles at a complex in the Iraqi Kurdistan Region that it said had been used by Israeli intelligence agents to plot attacks against it.
Iran will likely respond to the assassination of Khodayari and the attack on Parchin, despite the threat of further escalation by Israel and the US. Tehran could attempt to strike Israeli targets outside of Israel, as it did in the past.
The post Drone Strike Was Behind Deadly Explosion At Key Iranian Military Research Facility – Report appeared first on South Front.