Iran Under Attack: Islamic Republic Rocked by Explosive Strikes

By Richard Moorhead January 29, 2023 at 8:12am

Sites across the Islamic Republic of Iran have been targeted in a series of strikes from the air, according to news reports, but Iranian authorities are disputing at least some of the accounts.

A drone attack damaged an ammunition plant in the central Iranian city of Isfahan on Sunday, with the strike resulting in a visible blast, according to The Guardian.

An already-smoking building described as an Iranian military facility exploded in one video — in what could have been the detonation of stored munitions.

Video of an explosion inside a defense facility in Isfahan last night #Iran pic.twitter.com/ijphCkqTqD

— Michael A. Horowitz (@michaelh992) January 29, 2023

Another video — purportedly from Isfahan and posted by the Warsaw, Poland-based Belarusian news organization Nexta — depicted emergency responders at the scene of a serious fire.

Explosion at a military factory in the central #Iranian city of Isfahan

According to the Iranian state television company IRIB, the explosion occurred in one of the centers for the production of ammunition of the Ministry of Defense. pic.twitter.com/2gwwJeyOad

— NEXTA (@nexta_tv) January 28, 2023

The attacks come days after joint U.S.-Israeli military drills in the region, according to Fox News.

Will more strikes hit Iran?

The Fox report noted that the Iranian Republic News Agency denied there were attacks outside of the Isfahan strike.

However, other news agencies reported otherwise, with one journalist asserting that explosions and fires followed in the cities of Karaj, outside Tehran, and Tabriz, in northwest, Iran.

#Iran: Explosions and fire in #Karaj, west of #Tehran and in a factory near #Tabriz, capital of #EastAzarbaijan province. Online post by protesters in southwestern #Khuzestan reports explosion in Dezful. Air raid sirens in #Hamedan’s Nozheh airbase.
https://t.co/v7E0vHy5es

— Ahmed Quraishi (@_AhmedQuraishi) January 29, 2023

#BREAKING: Some unusual jet activity in Tehran, #Iran along with what sounds like an explosion. Video circulating on Telegram below. 1/2 pic.twitter.com/6wBiGahDVA

— Jason Brodsky (@JasonMBrodsky) January 28, 2023

An Iranian state media agency claimed that the drone attack on Isfahan had been unsuccessful, according to Al Jazeera.

Iran’s Islamist dictatorship has supported Russia in its invasion of Ukraine.

Russia has utilized Iranian-made kamikaze drones to considerable effect in the conflict, according to CBS News.

It’s not clear who carried out the Sunday strikes on Iran, although it’s likely only a state actor would be capable of such an operation.

Israel has carried out drone strikes on Iranian military targets before, with one operation seriously damaging Iran’s own drone program last year, according to The Times of Israel.

Submit a Correction →