Who orchestrated Iran drone attack? Intel officials point finger at Israel

Senior intelligence officials have attributed Saturday’s drone strike on an Iranian military facility in Isfahann to Israel, specifically its premier intelligence agency Mossad. According to the New York Times, senior officials familiar with the discussion that occurred between the United States and Israel following the explosion said that the attack was orchestrated by Mossad.

On Saturday, Iran acknowledged the attack but said that it did not cause much damage, adding that “a cowardly drone attack on a military site in central Iran will not impede Iran’s progress on its peaceful nuclear program,” Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian said at a press conference in the Iranian capital of Tehran.

"On the evening of 28 January, around 23:30, an unsuccessful attack using mini-drones was carried out on one of the centers of the Ministry of Defence. One of [the drones] was hit by the Iranian military's air defense system, and the other two were caught in defense traps and blew up," a statement from Iran's defense ministry read, according to state news agency IRNA.

US says it was not behind the drone attack 

Officials from the United States have said that the strike was prompted by Israel’s fears over its own security, dispelling speculations that it was carried out in retaliation for Tehran’s abundant drone supply to Moscow amid the Russia-Ukraine war. Soon after the attack, the United States, via its officials, cleared the air and said that it was not behind the attack, with one official vaguely confirming that it was carried out by Israel.

According to New York Times, Israel, at times, informs the US about an operation that it would launch in the near future. However, it is uncertain if that communication occurred this time. The strike occurred just when US Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken was commencing his first visit to Israel since Benjamin Netanyahu was sworn in as the PM. Last week, Central Intelligence Agency director William J. Burns also visited Israel, although, details of his visit remain unclear.