Iran’s foreign minister played down an overnight strike on Friday, saying Tehran was looking into the attack, but added 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 Amirabdollahian remarked, “They’re more like toys that our children play with, not drones.”
“It has not been proved to us that there is a connection between these and Israel,” he stated, adding that Iran was looking into the issue but that, based on information from Tehran, media reports were untrue.
Iranian officials and media reported a few explosions that they said were caused by air defenses striking three drones over the central Iranian city of Isfahan early on Friday morning. Instead of blaming Israel for the incident, they described it as an attack by “infiltrators,” negating the need for retaliation. Amirabdollahian issued a warning, saying Tehran would respond immediately and to the fullest extent possible if Israel retaliated and moved against Iran’s interests. “But if not, then we are done. We are concluded,” he said.
The attack was reported to be directed towards an Iranian Air Force base close to the city of Isfahan, but it didn’t hit any important locations or seriously harm anything.
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Regarding the incident, Israel has remained silent. The White House declined to comment, but U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken asserted that the country had not participated in any offensive operations.
The United States as well as other allies exerted pressure throughout the week to guarantee that any additional retaliation would not lead to an even greater escalation, and in an effort to appease Israel, Western nations tightened sanctions on Iran. Israel remained silent on Friday regarding the possibility of additional actions. In addition to attacking directly on Iranian soil, it can also launch cyberattacks and attacks on Iranian proxies abroad.
Over half of the 2.3 million people living in Gaza are said to be sheltering in areas of Rafah, which was targeted by Israeli planes and tanks as night fell on Friday. This information has been confirmed by residents, Hamas media, and officials at the Gaza health ministry, which is run by Hamas. Nine people—four of whom were children—were killed and numerous others were injured when a single strike struck two apartments in a city residential building, according to health officials.
