Israel strikes Iran amid new push to contain Tehran

Israeli, American officials discuss new ways to combat Iranian operations.

An explosion in Iran's Isfahan province after Iran claimed on Sunday to have repelled a drone attack on a military site in central province, Picture: UGC via AFP

Israel carried out a clandestine drone strike targeting a defence compound in Iran, as the US and Israel look for new ways to contain Tehran’s nuclear and military ambitions, according to US officials and people familiar with the operation.

Iranian officials said that the country had thwarted an attempted attack by three small quadcopters targeting a munitions factory in the city of Isfahan, right next to a site belonging to the Iran Space Research Centre, which has been sanctioned by the US for its work on Iran’s ballistic-missile program.

Iran said its air defences brought down one of the drones while the two others exploded above the warehouse, causing minor damage to the roof.

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian called the blast a cowardly strike.

“Such actions cannot impact the determination and intent of our experts for peaceful nuclear progress,” he said, according to government news service PadDolat.

The Israeli military declined to comment.

The strike marks the first known attack carried out by Israel under the new far-right coalition government led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who sanctioned a series of bold operations inside Iran when he last served in that role from 2009 to 2021.

Israel’s latest strike comes as Israeli and American officials are discussing new ways to combat Iran’s destabilising operations, including its deepening military co-operation with Russia.

CIA director William Burns made an unannounced trip to Israel last week to discuss Iran and other regional issues, according to people familiar with his visit. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is scheduled to arrive in Israel on Monday to continue the U.S.-Israel talks about Iran and other regional issues.

Last week, the US and Israel carried out their largest-ever joint military exercise involving more than 7500 personnel from both countries and a series of scenarios to test their ability to take out air-defence systems and refuel jet planes — both of which could be key elements of a major military strike on Iran.

Israel’s top general told The Wall Street Journal last week that Israel and the US were preparing for the worst.

Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi, the Israel Defence Forces’ chief of staff, said that the military exercises sent “a very clear message to Iran: If Iran makes mistakes, offence capabilities are getting ready”.

Efforts by President Joe Biden to resurrect a nuclear containment deal with Iran have come to a standstill, but the US has yet to develop an alternative. Mr Netanyahu has been pushing the U. to take a tougher stand against Iran.

At the same time, the US has been pressing Israel to do more to help Ukraine in its war with Russia, especially now that Tehran is providing Moscow with hundreds of drones used to attack Ukraine. Israel has rebuffed pressure to send Ukraine direct military aid, which Russian politicians have warned would imperil Israeli relations with Moscow.

Russia and Israel have had a years-long understanding that has allowed Israeli warplanes to repeatedly strike Iranian targets inside Syria, where Moscow provides air defences for President Bashar al-Assad. Israel is worried that open support for Ukraine could imperil its ability to strike Iranian targets in Syria.

Mr Netanyahu’s new government isn’t expected to offer Ukraine direct military support. But it is expected to continue carrying out covert strikes against Iran’s nuclear and military program.

Strikes like the one over the weekend help damage Iran’s ability to help Russia with the war in Ukraine.

The Wall Street Journal