Iran has accused a foreign security service of training and arming a Kurdish group in Iraq to carry out a drone attack on a weapons depot near the central city of Isfahan. State-run Nour News reported that three quadcopter drones loaded with bombs attacked a Defense Ministry complex in Isfahan on Saturday, with at least one hitting the roof. The equipment and explosives were reportedly brought into the country with the help of Kurdish anti-revolutionary groups in Iraqi Kurdistan under orders from a foreign security service.
Although the country blamed by authorities was not identified, Iran has previously accused Israel of using bases in the northern region of Iraq to its advantage. Iran downplayed the attack, stating that some drones were shot down while others caused only minor damage to the workshop roof. No further details on the attack were given.
Iran also accused the Kurdish group of receiving parts, microchips, and explosive materials that were smuggled into the country from one of the inaccessible routes in the north-west of Iran. The country has previously accused Kurdish groups in Iraq of instigating anti-government protests. In response, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has launched several drone and missile attacks on what it calls separatist terrorists in northern Iraq.
Saturday’s drone attack on Isfahan bears similarities to another attack last February when six quadcopter drones carrying explosives hit a manufacturing and storage plant for military drones near the city of Kermanshah, for which Israel was accused. Last year, the IRGC fired rockets at a house in Erbil, the capital of the Kurdish Region of Iraq, which they claimed was an Israeli intelligence base for mounting attacks in Iran.
Image Credit: Iranian Presidency Office via AP
