Iran International published on April 21 what it said were images of before and after the April 19 Israeli attack at an air defense site near the heavily-fortified Natanz nuclear facility close to the city of Isfahan.
The images, which are yet to be verified, indicate that the radar of one of Iran’s S-300PMU2 long-range air defense systems was hit during the attack.
Iran International is an opposition outlet, critical of the Iranian government. It is reportedly funded by Saudi Arabia and headquartered in London, the capital of the United Kingdom.
The image – taken by SkyWatch on 20 April 2024 – shows an air defense system in Eighth Shekari Air Base, about 20 km northeast of Isfahan and 150 km south of the nuclear facility at Natanz, the central part of which seems to have been hit in Israeli raid.https://t.co/XrXwAP7Fha
— Iran International English (@IranIntl_En) April 21, 2024
Tehran acknowledged that the attack targeted Isfahan air base, also known as Eighth Shekari, where the air defense site in question is located. However, it claimed that there were no casualties or material losses.
Israel used secret air-launched ballistic missiles as well as small suicide drones launched from within Iran territory in the attack, according to several recent reports. It is unclear which of these weapons hit the S-300PMU-2 radar.
The Israeli attack came in response to the April 13-14 Iranian missile and drone strikes on Israel, which was a retaliation to an Israeli strike on the Iranian embassy in the Syrian capital, Damascus, at the beginning of the month that claimed the lives of several senior members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Israel didn’t acknowledge the attack, neither was officially blamed for it by Iran. However, officials from the two countries as well as the United States confirmed to several news outlets that the Israeli military was responsible.
Iran’s air defense force operates four S-300PMU2 batteries which were delivered by Russia in 2016 as a part of the now-defunct nuclear agreement signed a year earlier. The system deployed at the air defense site in Isfahan air base is considered the main line of defense of the Natanz nuclear facility.
The attack on Isfahan was apparently meant to send a message to Iran that the Israeli military can strike its heavily-fortified nuclear facilities. However, Israel exposed many of its secret capabilities and tactics during the attack.
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