by Jerusalem Post Staff, Reuters
"This action undertaken by Israel goes against international law and [we] condemn it," the agency quoted the ambassador as saying.
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Iran’s Ambassador to the United Nations Amir Saeid Iravani speaks
to delegates before a vote on a resolution recognizing Russia must be
responsible for reparation in Ukraine at the United Nations Headquarters
in New York, US, November 14, 2022
(photo credit: REUTERS/EDUARDO MUNOZ)
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Iran blamed Israel for a drone attack on a military factory near the central city of Isfahan, the semi-official ISNA news agency said on Thursday, vowing revenge for what appeared to be the latest episode in a long-running covert war.
In a letter to the UN chief, Iran's UN envoy, Amir Saeid Iravani, said primary investigation suggested Israel was responsible for the attack on Saturday night.
"Iran reserves its legitimate and inherent right to defend its national security and firmly respond to any threat or wrongdoing of the Zionist regime wherever and whenever it deems necessary," Iravani said in the letter.
"This action undertaken by the Zionist regime goes against international law."
The attack came amid tension between Iran and the West over Tehran's nuclear activity and its supply of arms - including long-range "suicide drones" - for Russia's war in Ukraine, as well as months of anti-government demonstrations at home.
Israel has long said it is willing to strike Iranian targets if diplomacy fails to curb Tehran's nuclear or missile programs, but it has a policy of withholding comment on specific incidents.
Eyewitness footage shows what is said to be the moment of an explosion
at a military industry factory in Isfahan, Iran, January 29, 2023
(credit: POOL/WANA (WEST ASIA NEWS AGENCY) VIA REUTERS)In July, Tehran said it had arrested a sabotage team of Kurdish militants working for Israel who planned to blow up a "sensitive" defence industry center in Isfahan.
Attack on the Ifsahan defense facility
On January 29, there were four explosions at the site, all of which appeared to specifically target a facility developing advanced weapons. Despite the Islamic Republic claiming otherwise, the damage goes far beyond the "minor roof damage" that it has also falsely claimed before also in other incidents in recent years.
A separate NourNews report on Wednesday said that by studying the exploded components of the drones, the “manufacturer has been precisely identified and important clues have been revealed.”
Several nuclear sites are located in Isfahan province, including Natanz, the centerpiece of Iran’s uranium enrichment program, which Iran accused Israel of sabotaging in 2021. There have been a number of explosions and fires around Iranian military, nuclear and industrial sites in recent years.
Ukraine-Iran tensions heighten
The Iranian Foreign Ministry summoned the Ukrainian Ambassador to the Islamic Republic, Sergei Bordeliak, to discuss the recent statements of the senior adviser to Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky, Mykhailo Podolyak, Russian state media outlet TASS reported on Monday.
Podolyak took to Twitter on Sunday to mock Iran after it suffered an apparently devastating drone attack at the Isfahan weapons facility in Isfahan, saying that "Ukraine did warn you."
War logic is inexorable & murderous. It bills the authors & accomplices strictly.Panic in RF - endless mobilization, missile defense in Moscow, trenches 1000 km away, bomb shelters preparation.Explosive night in Iran - drone & missile production, oil refineries. did warn you
— Михайло Подоляк (@Podolyak_M) January 29, 2023
As evidence of this apparent warning, Podolyak included a screenshot in the Ukrainian version of his tweet - but not in the English one – of a tweet he made on December 24, 2022.
Iran, planning to boost missile, drone supplies for Russia, blatantly humiliates the institution of international sanctions…Important to abandon nonworking sanctions, invalid UN resolutions concept, & move to more destructive tools – liquidation of plants, arrest of suppliers…
— Михайло Подоляк (@Podolyak_M) December 24, 2022
The tweet in question said the following:
"Iran, planning to boose missile, drone supplies for Russia, blatantly humiliates the institutions of international sanctions.. Important to abandon nonworking sanctions, invalid UN resolutions concept, & move to more destructive tools – liquidation of plants, arrest of suppliers."
The ambassador, according to TASS, was asked to clarify Podolyak's statement. There has, as of yet, been no public statement on the part of Bordeliak or the Iranian government regarding the results of his summons.
Yonah Jeremy Bob contributed to this report.
This is a developing story.
Jerusalem Post Staff, Reuters
Source: https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/article-730357
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